Uzu no Musume
by Kushinada Uzumaki
Summary: AU: Fem!Naruto. Instead of being the dead last, and seen as the village idiot, Naruto decides she wont bow to their expectations of the 'demon girl'. Instead, considered a prodigy, Naruto is a genin at six. Follow her beginning as a Kunoichi of Konoha, and what changes when Team 7 has two sensei's? One of which is the last Uzumaki heir? GaaraFem!Naru.
1. Prologue

**So, I've been wanting to do something for Naruto, and I decided to do a Female Naruto, whose name is still Naruto, but as she grows and makes bonds with others Naru will be a common nickname for her. **

**I don't use the name Naruko, mostly because I like the fact Naruto means maelstrom (or fishcake depending on who you ask, apparently).**

**I'm hoping this story will be liked as it is my first Naruto attempt. I still haven't decided on a pairing though. It's between Sasuke and Gaara. So hard to choose between the two. Oh well, romance wont be for a while.**

**This story also begins a few years before canon (Anime or Manga). **

**Also, I haven't read the Manga, I only have access to the Anime. So that and online sources are where my information comes from. **

**Just fair warning. Also on the topic of warnings, there may be some language and of course violence in the story. If that offends you I apologize, but that is just how I write. Realistically as I can. Though it wont be cursing in every sentence so no worries there. **

**And finally a disclaimer. **

**I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING RELATED TO NARUTO OR ANYTHING RELATED TO ANY ANIME. I ONLY OWN THE FEW ORIGINAL CHARACTERS THAT SHOW UP. **

* * *

**Existence Arc. **

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Prologue.**

"I want to go to the Academy."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, looked up from his desk in surprise at the young girl in front of him. Of course, one would be hard pressed to determine if it was actually a little girl or boy at first glance.

Being as the child was only four and she was rather small from years of neglect. Her hair was also short, barely touching her shoulders and rather messy and spiky (assuming she didn't attempt to tame it).

She looked so much like her mother, but with her hair so short it resembled her fathers in more than color. Though it was highlighted red, similar to a sunset when in direct light.

Something Naruto had inherited from her mother other than her nearly tomato shaped chubby face.

Though Kami forbid someone call her out on this trait, like her mother she had a red hot temper. Though she had a little better control over it.

Over all the girl in front of him was a bit of an enigma, even to him.

She was unusually smart for a four year old, and barely cried anymore. Despite how the village treated her, despite everything he'd tried to do to keep Minato's dying wish of his daughter being seen as a hero.

It was simply never enough it seemed.

Very few actually did honor Minato's last request. He'd admit he somewhat regretted making it publicly known the girl was the Kyuubi Jinchurriki.

Many simply saw the Kyuubi no Yōko. It hadn't taken him long to find out she was a bit of a prodigy, the kind that only came once every so often in a generation.

It shouldn't have surprised him really, she was the last of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans, two clans once valued for techniques of their respected villages.

Though very little was really known about the Namikaze's, it was determined they were once of Wind Country before the last of the clan fled their village and came to Konoha two generations before Minato was born.

The blue eyed girls words had shocked him though.

There she was before him, in an orange shirt with the Uzumaki clan spiral.

A symbol still used on the flak jackets of chūnin and jōnin to show the friendship between Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure (even if the ones used by Konoha had more spirals and was a slightly different coloration).

She also wore a pair of dark gray long shorts, which made her gender even more debatable. In her arms was a stuffed, rusty-orange colored, plush fox.

To him it just made her seem so innocent, but her eyes held such determination and knowledge along with mischief and loneliness.

She smiled and laughed and her eyes held a spark, but it only took really looking to see behind this and the bitter loneliness and darkness that threatened to destroy the girls sanity.

It was why he tried to help her as much as he could, she was after all like a granddaughter to him.

If it weren't for the fact he was so old now, and him helping his daughter-in-law with her pregnancy he'd have taken Naruto in himself.

Unfortunately he was Hokage, and that took up most his time. With his eldest son having passed recently, leaving his wife and unborn child behind made this an especially bad time.

"The Academy? Don't you think you should wait a year or two? You're only four now Naru," he said, and her blue eyes did not weaver as she shook her head.

"I want to go now. I want to prove I can be more than a pest. I'll prove to everyone I can be Hokage one day, and that I wont bow under their glares," she said with strength behind her words.

Strength that he didn't feel should belong in a four year old's voice. Yet, he knew it was a product of her raising. She'd been forced to grow up or be beat down so badly she wouldn't ever get up again.

Her eyes softened some as she continued.

"I don't know why everyone hates me jiji, but I wont lay down and take it anymore. If I prove myself as a ninja than they have to acknowledge me for me eventually. I wont allow anyone to push me around anymore, I know I'm four but I can do this. Please, Jiji!"

By the end her voice was loud and almost pleading. With a sigh Sarutobi looked behind him at the pictures of the former Hokages, one in particular of Minato Namikaze, the girls father, and he nodded.

_'I hope you would agree with my decision, Minato. She's so young but she's never truly had a childhood to begin with. If this is what she wants than I will allow it.'_ he thought to himself and then turned back to the patiently waiting blonde.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Naruto?" he asked. "Once you go there is no turning back, and if you do pass the exam the next time it is held then that's it. You'll be a Shinobi of the hidden leaf, considered an adult, no matter how young you are."

He saw a looked pass through her eyes, hesitation, but it was gone nearly as soon as it appeared.

"I'm sure," she said. "I want to become a strong kunoichi, to prove my existence to them all. I'm _not_ a demon."

She said the last part so softly he almost didn't hear her. He sighed sadly on the inside and pulled out a form.

"I'll let the Academy know and starting Monday you'll begin at the academy. I will also go about pulling some of your parents old material from storage. They wanted you to have them once you began the academy. I am sure this was not the age they expected, but I think you'll benefit from them. They are your birthright after all."

Naruto's eyes lit up, sparkling like sapphires placed in the sky and she grinned.

She looked so much like her father in that moment it was hard to realize this girl and the solemn girl from before were one and the same.

Bowing slightly the girl thanked him and ran out of the office, probably to make preparations at the apartment he'd set her up in six months before.

"I hope you're watching over her, Minato, Kushina. You'd be proud of her I believe," he muttered as he returned to the form enrolling Uzumaki Minako (though rare for people to have middle names he'd given it to Naruto as another connection to her parents) Naruto into the Academy.

* * *

Naruto nearly had to cry at the scrolls in front of her, storage scrolls and even one medium size treasure chest like box that had a paper seal on the front.

Hokage-jiji had said it functioned much like the storage scrolls, all of which only opened to Uzumaki blood or Namikaze – her parents clan names.

Apparently the seals were Uzumaki designs, and not just any Uzumaki could open it, only one from the main family, or the head of the clans family in other words.

A seal her mother had taught her father.

Hokage only knew it could tell the difference through chakra, but it was a clan secret and her mother had only taught her father when they'd become engaged.

She still wasn't sure who exactly they were, but Jiji had promised to tell her when she was older. She figured her parents had left some sort of instructions with the old man before passing in the Kyuubi attack.

She saw more than many expected, and she was far from stupid but she wasn't perfect. She couldn't see everything.

Seeing what Fuuinjutsu could do just for storing and keeping secrets safe, she couldn't wait to delve further into it. Maybe it could help her safe guard her apartment.

The apartment itself was an old building that had been abandoned when the owner upgraded.

Hokage had bought the land and building out and given it to Naruto. So all three floors were her's to do as she pleased.

She had chosen the apartment that was largest and safest for her, being on the top floor made it a little harder for upset villagers to get in without her realizing it.

With seals she could protect it even more, but that would have to wait.

She knew enough in common sense that diving headfirst into something as precise and dangerous as Fuuinjutsu could potentially blow up in her face and kill her.

It was a tricky art, and it was probably one reason there were not many Fuuinjutsu masters in the villages history or present.

Once she'd gotten a hold of her emotions again she'd first explored the trunk, unsealing it with a bloody thumb. Once open she could see it was rather spacious and housed many clothing storage scrolls with tags detailing sizes and ages worn.

This would be good for her, if these were her mothers old clothes then she could use them herself with some modifications. It wasn't exactly easy for her to get clothes seeing as most shops would stone her if she came too close.

Some were books, and a couple pictures of who she was sure was her parents when they were younger. Probably around eleven or twelve.

Her Jiji hadn't been kidding when he said she looked like the perfect blend of both, but if she grew her hair long it would probably make her look even more like her mother.

It was definitely something to think about.

Her father, she was positive this was her father seeing as his hair was only a slight shade different to her own blonde locks and his skin was the same tan-peach tone as hers.

Even his eyes were the same shade of cerulean as hers. He looked more than a little familiar but she couldn't place where.

None of it had their first names though, just their last names. She sighed about that but shrugged. At least she knew what they looked like.

"This is great," Naruto said, grinning once more.

She didn't think she'd grinned so wide in a long time, not a true one anyway.

Gathering the storage scrolls she knew were family jutsu's and clan information, she walked over to a bookshelf that had been in her bedroom when she'd moved in.

One of the left overs from when the building housed people.

She placed all scrolls on the shelves in an order she could remember.

And then the books which had seals on the spins that would only open to an Uzumaki's blood and chakra signature – it seemed the Uzumaki's were a paranoid bunch to her – on another shelf.

Taking all the clothes from the storage scrolls and chest she placed them all in the closet. She'd sort through them more in the morning. She was happy to find a lot of it was more than suitable for a ninja.

Which made sense, seeing as her mother was a kunoichi herself before her death.

Once that was finished Naruto walked over to the book shelf, which was pretty full, and pulled out a worn book on Fuuinjutsu. From the title and contents inside it was for beginners and mostly went over history.

What made it different from other books was it was written by an Uzumaki, one of the first books all Uzumaki's read to begin understanding the art Uzushiogakure was so known for.

Climbing on to the lumpy, yet still more comfortable then alleyways and concrete, bed she open the book and began to read.

If she wanted to be able to make her home more protected from the villagers and random Shinobi who only saw a demon for no apparent reason, than she'd need to start now.


	2. Uzumaki Arrival

**Sorry, I edited chapter three and replaced the wrong chapter content. My bad, so here is the real chapter. **

* * *

**Existence Arc. **

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 1: Uzumaki Arrival. **

Not for the last time did Naruto wonder if she'd made a mistake.

Sure, starting the academy now sounded like a good idea, but as she stood in front of the class of seven and eight year olds she had to wonder if she'd made a mistake.

She stood before them dressed in something a little more practical to her career choice. A mesh shirt and shorts body suit – which had elbow length sleeves – under a dark yet still rather bright orange-red sleeveless Kimono, with a dark blue obi, dark blue shorts and brown standard shinobi sandals.

All had been her mothers old clothes, but she'd used the skills she'd gained over the years with needle and thread to take in some of the size.

She'd even dyed the obi from green to blue and the kimono from yellow to orange – though she had gotten it sort of wrong. Making it more orange-red and brighter than she'd wanted.

She'd never claimed to be a prodigy of house home chores like sowing.

She'd even taken and stitched her clans symbol onto the back of the kimono – the only place she could find to put it that she liked at the time.

For now with her hair barely touching her shoulders it was visible. If she grew her hair out she'd have to move it, if she wanted it to be easily seen.

Everyone looked at her strangely, probably because of her age. She was only four after all, probably one of the youngest to ever be enrolled into the academy. Everyone else was three to four years older than her.

But she didn't care, and she'd be five in October and it wasn't that odd in the past for children as young as five to enroll. Not common outside a time of war but not uncommon either.

Especially for prodigies – a word she'd heard thrown around and she thought Jiji had said it in concern to her when he brought her to the academy earlier.

Thankfully the Sensei didn't seem to be that affronted by her. He didn't seem fond of her but he didn't outright glare or curse her very presence either.

"Class, today we have a new student," Hiroshi-sensei said.

The man was older, probably a retired ninja if she hazard a guess. Mid to late thirties, early forties at the most. Though she knew appearances could be deceiving for ninja.

His hair was black and graying and rather short. His skin was tanned and seemed to have scars that were sort of faint. Though one on his chin was the most prominent.

He wore a dark blue long sleeve shirt and pants in the same color. Bandages were wrapped around his arms, taping the shirt down from wrist to elbow.

On his legs bandages taped down his pants from ankle to shin. He wore dark Shinobi sandals on his feet and a headband was around his upper right shoulder. A standard jōnin vest was over his shirt.

She wondered if he volunteered for this job, being a retired jōnin, or if the Hokage had roped him into teaching.

"Huh? But she's like three, sensei!" one of the students cried, and Naruto twitched in annoyance as the snickers began.

She knew she was small for her age, but she wasn't that small!

"I'm four, Dattebane!" Naruto exclaimed, glaring at the quieting crowed.

Hiroshi-sensei smirked slightly at some of the owlishly blinking students and how the girls outburst had quieted them.

Kimura Hiroshi recalled another girl with a similar personality and a verbal tick for the word, Dattebane. A girl who he would be blind not to realize shared a striking resemblance with the blonde Uzumaki.

It would also be rather senile for him not to realize both girls shared the same clan name. He recalled the fall of Uzushiogakure, he'd been in his prime during those days and the arrival of Kushina Uzumaki not long after.

The resemblance was only something that could be passed from mother to daughter. It was one reason Hiroshi opted to see the Uzumaki girl as herself and not what was sealed within her.

There was just no way this girl was the Kyuubi reborn into a human image. It was one reason he hadn't argued with the Hokage one accepting her into his class.

He was a man that did not play favorites after all, and Jinchuuriki or not the girl would be treated like any other student by him at least.

"Right," he began. "She may be younger but she's here. This is Uzumaki Naruto, she'll be here until she passes the exam, same as all of you."

The silence didn't surprise him or the girl it appeared, but they seemed to accept it.

"Naruto, you can go sit next to..." looking around his eyes landed on a boy who seemed rather sulky and bored.

Smirking he finished, "Koji. Uchiha Koji, raise you hand so Uzumaki may sit down."

The boy jumped slightly in his seat as his eyes snapped open and he turned to look at Hiroshi-sensei. The man had a smirk on his face, and Koji knew he'd been caught.

Sighing he looked at the girl next to the sensei.

Short messy, yet also tame blonde hair – it seemed as if it had been wrestled into a tame style, but to him it made her face look even rounder than it was.

He thought the blonde mess may look similar, yet more natural if grown out. It was an unusual sunny blonde shade with a reddish tent when light hit it in areas. Her skin was tanned, and her eyes big and bright cerulean blue.

The oddest thing about her though had to be the whisker marks on each cheek.

Slowly he raised his hand.

Naruto noticed the boy before he even raised his hand. Hiroshi-sensei had said his name was Koji, Uchiha Koji.

She knew enough to know Uchiha was one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha, sort of like what Uzumaki was to Uzushiogakure before it was destroyed.

He had chin length hair, sort of choppy but it sat rather flat as well. It was dark, black but with hints of a really dark blue if you really looked.

She'd seen a few Uchiha's around the village, and he looked like one but his hair seemed darker and his eyes weren't black but a really dark gray. In the right setting they could be mistaken for black though.

He wore a high collared black shirt, and she was sure the Uchiha symbol was somewhere on it, probably the back. And tanned cargo shorts and black Shinobi sandals. He had bandages wrapped around his forehead, sort of like a hitai-ate would look like if he had one yet.

"Here," he muttered in a bored manner and Naruto forced back a twitch of annoyance before moving to the free seat on his right.

"Good, now that has been taken care of. Today we'll be going over the basics, to refresh everyone's minds and working on – "

Naruto listened with most her attention on Hiroshi-sensei, but she couldn't help but wonder about the boy next to her. He didn't seem much like an Uchiha, more like a Nara actually.

She shrugged, she didn't care. She was here to learn to be a Shinobi, and one day prove to the village that she had as much right as them to be part of Konoha. If not more so considering the crap she took daily from most.

Today was the beginning of everything, she just knew it.

As the days passed Naruto began to realize how much hard work would have to be put forth if she wanted to pass the exams by the end of the year.

She knew she had no hope of passing the one coming up in August, but the one next July would be easier if she put forth the time to train and study.

On one hand it wasn't like she had much else to do besides train and she enjoyed training.

She, thankfully had the help of family jutsu's and history left to her by her parents. It wasn't much, mostly just clan jutsu's, and most Uzumaki jutsu's were actually based in Fuuinjutsu, Kenjutsu and Taijutsu.

The few ninjutsu's were mostly for wind, water and lightning affinities – something she'd come across over the last three months.

It seemed that those three elements were most common in Uzushiogakure, but there were not many ninjutsu specialist among Uzushiogakure. Even less genjutsu specialist and most Uzumaki's were crap with genjutsu because of their special chakra.

Which she learned wasn't exactly just something her mother had, though the chakra chains her mother had were something unique to Kushina Uzumaki.

All Uzumaki had large amounts of chakra, which seemed to regenerate itself almost as soon as it was used. A huge stamina which came with this, many found it hard to sit still for long because of this. And of course Uzushiogakure was known for longevity, very long life spans.

From her mothers scrolls and books she found the oldest known Uzumaki had been five hundred years old by the time Uzushiogakure had been destroyed, but had looked no older than someone in their nineties, or early hundreds.

Though this was just what was recorded, no one was actually sure how long the longevity could last for since many were kill by unnatural causes. Being a Ninja clan and all.

She had even less from the Namikaze side, her father had been an orphan since he was young.

He barely recalled his parents but he knew they hadn't originally been from Konoha. He knew they were once a larger ninja clan from Wind Country, but that was about it.

What clan jutsu he'd left her were basically his own creations and what he'd gotten from his father. Most centering around wind and lightning affinities seeing as it was the most common in the Namikaze clan. Or so it seemed.

Thankfully there were a couple scrolls on taijutsu, and genjutsu among her father's things. Things her father had assumed salvaged from his parents before they died when he was four.

This all came from the history written out by her own father, something similar had been done by her mother.

She had to wonder if that was done for future generations, ergo her, or if they'd had an idea they'd not get to raise her?

But that was stupid, she decided. They couldn't have known they were going to die.

Her mother also had a few scrolls on taijutsu and even more on Kenjutsu. This was great since she could use the help in all these areas.

She'd found that while she had no trouble with most academy taught jutsu she could not establish a Bunshin to save her life.

Which sucked since she might just need it to save her life one day.

She had a similar problem with taijutsu. She realized how important it was to have and after being beaten royally by most the clan brats, including one very annoying Uchiha, she was determined to figure something out.

The academy style was alright, for beginning, but she needed something else.

It just wasn't something she could utilize properly, and especially not against a clan taijutsu style like Uchiha's or even the one Hyuuga used.

Even Inuzuka Kasumi and her twin brother, Kaisei, were able to run circles around her during taijutsu spars.

She might have more chakra and stamina and speed, but she was useless without skill to use it.

Her saving grace were these items left to her, and she thanked Jiji for giving them to her when she'd begun the academy. Otherwise she feared it would have been a lot harder.

The taijutsu scrolls would help her with her own style and of course a clan style. The Kenjutsu would help with weapons.

She had good strength behind a throw concerning shuriken and kunai, but her aim needed some help.

Breathing hard, Naruto slumped to the ground of the training ground she'd found near a wooded, deserted area. Around her was a few scrolls, most were still sealed but one was open.

It was the Uzumaki clan style. Raikou Kitsune, or basically the Lightning Fox.

The style was created in mind of the Uzumaki stamina, speed and even strength. It needed precise hits, and actually had a bit to do with pressure points. It didn't rely on these two things though.

Mostly what one needed was speed and agility. Something she had in spades.

As she read farther it seemed to master the style properly one needed a Lightning affinity, but one did not have to mix their affinity with the style to be able to learn it.

So even if Lightning wasn't her affinity, or even primary element she could still master it enough.

She had plans though to create her own style, mixing the Raikou Kitsune with the Kazeken Doragon (the taijutsu style of the Namikaze clan; Wind-blade Dragon) with some more common styles found in the library.

Something that played to her agility and stamina, but also mixed well with her two family styles.

Latter she'd be able to blend her Kenjutsu with her taijutsu making the style even more deadly.

She'd earn the right to her existence, she thought smiling to herself.

"Hey, you're that Uzumaki girl," a vaguely familiar voice said from behind her.

Naruto's eyes widened marginally and she jumped to her feet, snapping her open scroll up off the ground with her.

She knew the person probably wouldn't attempt anything but she was protective, if not a little possessive of her possessions. She had so few and these were the last links to her parents.

Looking at the figure before her she couldn't help but glare a little.

Standing there, looking bored and also a little curious, if her eyes didn't deceive her, was the Uchiha boy she sat by in class.

He wore the same thing he always did, it never really crossed her mind until now how most ninja always wore the same outfit, just a fresh pair.

"And you're the Uchiha boy, so what?" she said, almost snapping.

The boy blinked owlishly and shrugged, sinking his hands into his pockets.

"Hnn, I just didn't expect anyone else to be here. It's usually a deserted training ground because it's so close to the forest of death."

She blinked confused, and shrugged.

"It seems fine to me."

"I'm Koji," he said, really not wanting to be called the Uchiha boy again.

He had seen enough of the blonde to know she'd definitely call him that if she didn't know his name.

"Naruto."

He smirked and asked, "Naruto? What sort of name is that for a girl; Fishcake, right?"

He snickered mentally as her face turned a bit red. And the scroll she held to her chest was crushed against her some.

"It's a great name, and it means maelstrom, not fishcake!" she exclaimed, her eyes closed in her anger. "Besides, what sort of name is Koji? And no one said Naruto couldn't be a girls name."

He smirked wider and chuckled.

"Fine, fine. I just assumed your name would match you more. I guess maelstrom does make more sense, though fishcake also makes some sense. You're sort of like a yellow tomato, and a fishcake is a food," he mused.

It wasn't long before he realized his mistake.

He backed up, his hands raised as he got a look at the blonde. Her face turned even more red, looking like a true tomato and her hair seemed to stand up on end, like nine tails.

It would be more dramatic if it was longer than shoulder blade length – it had really grown in the last few months.

"DON'T CALL ME TOMATO, 'ATTEBANE!" she nearly shrieked and the scroll was dropped at her feet as she moved toward him with a raised fist and speed he didn't expect.

His eyes widened and he managed to dodge at the last second, but what he wasn't expecting was for her left leg to come out to connect with his knees.

It would have been almost expected if it were aimed for his gut, but she'd targeted his knees.

He ended up with bruised knees and flipping over in mid air and landing hard on his back, head facing the calming girl – how he wasn't exactly sure, it happened so quickly.

She glared down at him with sharp blue eyes and he slowly smiled and laughed.

She blinked.

"What? What are you laughing at, dattebane!?" she asked, her voice raised slightly.

He stuck his arm up, his hand extended to her.

"You're interesting, Uzumaki Naruto. Let's be friends," he said, and Naruto blinked again.

"Friends?" she asked softly, her eyes wide. "You...you want to be my friend?"

Koji sat up slowly, and got to his feet, turning to face the shorter girl. He recalled she was a few years younger than him. She was four, probably close to five and he had already turned seven.

"Sure, why not? I mean, you must have friends? Siblings maybe, your parents?" he asked.

Naruto frowned, her eyes sad but resigned. There was also a sliver of hope behind them, but that confused Koji even more.

"No. I've never had friends before," she said, shocking him.

"What about your family?" he asked.

"I don't have one," she said, looking over to the side. "I'm an orphan. I know their last names, but...that's all. I live by myself."

Koji blinked and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize," he said and then smiled slightly, holding his hand out again. "I'll be your friend though. Your best friend."

Naruto's eyes widened as she looked up at him.

"Best friend..."

"Yep, we'll be best friends, though you can have more than one. Maybe even family if you want, I've always wanted a little sister to torture," he said smirking.

She looked at him strangely before smiling widely. The whisker marks on her face seemed to curl and her eyes actually looked brighter in her happiness.

"Friends, family... I'd like that," she said. "What about you though... do you have any siblings?"

Koji laughed.

"Sure. I have an older brother, Shisui," he said. "He's already a ninja though and doesn't have a lot of time. You can meet him someday, he's pretty laid back compared to most of my clan."

Naruto blinked and nodded.

"What were you doing out here anyways?" he asked, and turned spotting the scroll on the ground.

Walking over he bent down and picked it up. He only saw the words _Raikou Kitsu_- before it was snatched away by Naruto.

"Don't read that..." she trailed off as she resealed it.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was a secret," he said, figuring out it must be something rather important.

He didn't recall any Uzumaki clans in Konoha, but then maybe Naruto's clan wasn't originally from Konoha.

She looked down and walked over to a dark orange bag and a few other sealed scrolls. She picked them up and put them away in the bag before slinging it over her right shoulder – like a messenger bag.

"I'm sorry, it's just... it's one of the only things I have from my parents. It's a clan taijutsu from my mother's clan," she said and Koji nodded.

"It's okay, I understand. I've never heard of the Uzumaki's though..." he trailed off, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the clouds.

Naruto twitched slightly and sighed as they walked back towards the village center.

"You probably wouldn't have," she said. "The Uzumaki's are all gone except for me, at least as far as I know. My mother was the last, she came here after Uzushiogakure was destroyed in the third war."

Koji looked at his new friend in surprise and some sympathy.

"You use your mothers name, then?" he inquired.

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I think it was to protect me though. The Uzumaki's are all but forgotten, seeing as Uzushiogakure is gone. I know my father was the last of his clan too, Namikaze, but I don't know much else."

Koji blinked, looking at the girl before him in surprise.

He knew that name, it sounded so familiar but where? Namikaze... Namikaze... his eyes widened in surprise and he looked at the blonde once more as if just now seeing her.

Her blonde hair, slightly angular jaw line that would probably be less tomato like once the baby fat was gone, and bright blue eyes. Hell, from the side she looked just like him, but how had none realized it before?

There was only one Namikaze he recalled, his father used to talk about him. A war hero, who died nearly five years before protecting the village to kill the Kyuubi.

Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage... was Uzumaki Naruto's father.

"..ji... Koji!"

Koji snapped out of his thoughts at the girls words and he shook his head.

"Yeah, Naruto?" he asked.

"Are you alright, you've been staring at me like a weirdo for a few minutes now," she said, looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

Slowly he smiled and nodded.

He wouldn't mention his revelations to her, she'd come about it herself eventually. He also didn't think it was his place to tell her. And it was probably safer for her not to know.

She'd been right to think it was for her protection. From what he knew many held a grudge against the Yondaime for his efforts in the war front. He'd made a lot of enemies and those enemies wouldn't think twice about gaining revenge by killing the Yondaime's legacy.

No, best to let her find out on her own. She was bound to after all, being a prodigy and all. Not to mention it would come up in class eventually. There was, after all, only one Namikaze alive to have been her father.


	3. How Far We've Come

**AN: So, here is the next chapter. I want to thank everyone who had reviewed. **

**Also one asked if Naruto would have some like Kushina's special chakra chains. She will have something, a bloodline from the Uzumaki's that is very rare because of the circumstances an Uzumaki must be in to activate it. It'll be revealed in a few chapters. **

**One last thing, there is a poll on my profile for Naruto's pairing. Go there to vote, please and remember to review and let me know what you all think. **

* * *

**Existence Arc. **

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 2: How Far We've Come. **

"Ahhg, why did I agree to this!?" Naruto yelled in frustration, her hands gripping her hair as if she was going to pull it from the roots.

Time had passed in a blur of monotone expectations for the young Jinchuuriki. The village had stayed the same, and as usual the stares of disgust, slight fear, anger, hate and coldness directed to her by ninety-five percent of the village hadn't changed. But she hadn't expected it to.

What had surprised her was the increase of fearful glares she got, it was like the fact she was learning to be a kunoichi unsettled some. As if they didn't want her to become too dangerous, though she couldn't see how she'd been dangerous to begin with.

It didn't matter, eventually once she was a genin, a true Shinobi of the leaf, they'd come to accept her. It might take her whole life but she was optimistic it would happen.

On a happier note.

Her friendship with Koji, the first friend she had ever had become more noticeable. At first no one could believe the laziest Uchiha, but still a good academy student, as he didn't slack off she realized no matter how lazy he seemed, was hanging out with the Uzumaki girl.

She was sure some of the villagers had heart attacks when they saw them together. The Uchiha... well they seemed to grin and bare it but she could tell most of them were not fond of her and Koji's friendship.

But after a while they got used to her, and she could even go to the Uchiha district now and not be stared at like she were from an alien planet. Not that her bright sunny hair didn't stick out like a large neon sign in a clan of dark, broody, Uchiha's, half of them having sticks shoved up their backsides from birth.

Koji had been right about his brother though. Shisui was one of the more laid back members of the clan and actually accepted her and Koji's friendship fairly quick. Quicker than his parents had.

She would admit she didn't know Shisui well, but they were friendly and sometimes he trained with her and Koji.

Not long after she'd begun going to the Uchiha district she'd run into the heirs of the clan, the head of the Uchiha clan's sons. Quite literally actually, she'd been late for a training meet with Koji and Shisui and she hated being late.

She didn't quite know what it was but being late made a shiver run down her spine.

As for the heirs of the clan, they hadn't been as harsh about her knocking the youngest down as she'd thought. The older one was probably around Shisui's age, maybe a little younger.

He looked about eleven, give or take a year. He wore the standard wide collared Uchiha shirt in black and black shorts and shinobi sandals.

He wore a hitai-ate on his forehead and had long black hair like most Uchiha. What had set him apart from them was the lines on either side of his face. They were longer and made him look a little older than he truly was, but not by much.

The younger one looked a lot like the older, but with shorter hair which stuck up in the back, sort of like a ducks-butt. His face was framed by longer bangs, not quite chin length, probably few inches above around the cheekbones. Both had onyx colored eyes.

_'Sorry, I didn't mean to – ' _

"_Who are you, why are you running around here? You're not an Uchiha,' the younger asked, standing up with a small glare. _

_It had been like he was trying to be upset, and failing though he did seen genuinely annoyed. _

_Naruto narrowed her eyes. _

_'I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto,' she replied. 'I'm here to train with my friend, Koji and his brother Shi..' _

_'Shisui,' the older boy said, finishing her sentence. _

_Naruto turned to look at the older boy the same time as Duck-butt (as she would call the brat until she felt like doing otherwise). _

_'Shisui-san?' duck-butt asked. _

_The older Uchiha looked down at his brother (she was assuming of course, but they looked too much alike to be anything less) and smiled slightly, but otherwise seemed as aloof as any Uchiha she'd seen other than Koji – though he could do the same thing given the situation. _

_'Hn, I've heard of you Naruto-chan,' the boy said. 'You're in the academy class with Koji. Shisui talks fondly of both you and Koji-kun.' _

_Duck-butt's eyes widened as he turned to look back at her. _

_'She's a student at the academy already, niisan?' _

_'Hn, the prodigy of your generation I think. Or at least of this years academy students. She is the youngest, your age Otouto.' The boy than nodded at her. 'Hello, I'm Uchiha Itachi.' _

_Duck-butt seemed to twitch for a moment before nodding and introducing himself. _

_'Uchiha Sasuke.' _

She had heard of Itachi before. He had been not much older than her when he became a ninja, and was considered a prodigy much like herself.

Personally she didn't care for the term prodigy, she wasn't doing this to be seen as a prodigy, she was doing it to be seen as a person and not a pest.

After a few seconds Itachi had offered to walk with her to meet Koji and Shisui. He and Shisui were close friends, and knowing how she was already late she figured it was best to bring her excuse to training with her.

She knew from experience keeping any Uchiha waiting annoyed them, even Koji who seemed to be the anti-Uchiha in the way he acted most of the time.

While she got along pretty well with Itachi, though they didn't truly have much to talk about but the academy and how she was doing being the youngest in her class.

She and Duck-butt, or Sasuke, didn't really talk the whole time. She did see the glances he shot her, ranging from curiosity, to anger, to envy... she'd stopped noticing after a while.

This had all been over a one year time period.

Time went on and eventually her fifth birthday had passed with little incident, other than the bear bottle which had been thrown at her while she was escaping to the Hokage mountain.

During the festival no one truly went up there, not that many did other days anyway. It was a good escape from the village and the mobs.

Otherwise she stayed locked in her apartment which had a few seals she'd finished learning about over the year. They were just sensor type seals, like alarms. If anyone entered with intent to harm or kill her she'd know. They were actually fairly simple, compared to most seals.

Her progress with other ninja skills also improved.

Taijutsu went up, and she was happy to find a more detailed scroll on pressure points to help with the Uzumaki clan style. The Raikou Kitsune didn't rely completely on it to be effective, but it was a fairly large part of the style.

One could never truly master the style without knowing the basics.

The scroll detailed most the common pressure points used in the Raikou Kitsune, but she wanted to be more advanced when it came to this. She found the answer in a medical scroll detailing pressure points, and so she changed the style ever so slightly to involve a few less common pressure points.

The main differences between the clan styles she was learning to master, the Raikou Kitsune and Kazeken Doragon, was that her mother's style was more offensive, and her father's style was a little more defensive.

But both could be used for the opposite with experience and skill, or so her scrolls and her own common sense told her.

While she had made progress she didn't expect to be anywhere near mastering either style for a few years. When it came to ninjutsu and genjutsu she had done a little better, mostly because it was a little easier to train with at times. Having so much chakra.

Though even though she had tried as many chakra control exercises as she could find time, she still lacked fine control that others had.

Her mothers notes seemed to say she had the same problem. She had so much chakra, like most Uzumaki's, that it was much harder to learn to control. The point was the smaller amount the amount they tried to control the harder it got, while it was usually the other way around for most shinobi.

Her mother's worse jutsu, like herself, was the Bunshin. Something that even with a year of training she still could not do, so she'd tried to find a smart way to fix that.

Her answer came when in her mother's scrolls, she'd found a scroll for other Bunshin techniques.

There was only two (three technically), two which her mother used seeing as her elemental affinities had been water and lightning. Mizu Bunshin, and Raiton Kage Bunshin.

She'd learned that a Raiton Kage Bunshin was very much like Kage Bunshin, which her mother listed as a technique in the forbidden scroll.

A technique which was actually created by the Uzumaki clan and given to Konoha when the Senju's began the village and upon Mito Uzumaki's marriage to the Hokage of that time.

She found fairly quickly that the Mizu Bunshin wasn't very easy for her. It took control she didn't have and she was pretty sure she had no affinity for water jutsu's what so ever. Which was a shame because there was at least five or so in her mothers things.

Raiton Kage Bunshin, on the other hand was a lot easier, and needed quite a bit of chakra since like the Kage Bunshin it was solid until fatally injured. It also retained memories but not as well as the Kage Bunshin.

Being only five and knowing how powerful the Kage Bunshin was from her mothers notes and what was written about it, she had decided that despite having instructions on how to preform the jutsu she'd wait until she was older.

Just in case her chakra reserves weren't large enough to handle so young. For now learning and perfecting the Raiton version was fine by her.

Genjutsu... well she needed better chakra control if she ever wanted to even know one jutsu that was a genjutsu. Right now her ability with it was zilch. She couldn't even fool a three year old with the simplest technique currently. It didn't truly bother her too much, she was more of a ninjutsu type anyways.

Now though, she was two months from turning six and the genin exam was in a week. A week before the exam and she was pretty much a nervous wreak.

Not only because if she couldn't pull of a Bunshin she'd fail – though she figured she'd simply use the Raiton Bunshin or attempt to make a classroom of Bunshin instead of how man they wanted.

She figured if making only three or four was a problem because of how much chakra she had than maybe if she upped the numbers she could make decent ones.

She'd tried it a couple times but while some looked okay enough, others were gross. If she made ten, half looked dead and the other half looked semi-healthy in other words. She would need to practice more and try to gain a bit more control to have it ready in time.

To top this all off she'd been roped into babysitting the Hokage's grandson.

Now normally Jiji had a nanny for this, but the woman had been sick and at the last minute he had asked her. Konohamaru was nearly a year old, come the end of December, but he, like her, was parent-less. His uncle and grandfather were all he had.

From what she understood his father had died the year he was born, and his mother had died in childbirth.

Currently she cursed her soft heart, and the little brown haired brat. She was too young to be looking after a baby...

_'Ah ah, if you're old enough to become a genin, Naru-chan, than I dare say you are old enough to babysit for a day,'_ Hokage-jiji had said, smiling.

Crafty old man, she thought as she sighed and tossed a soiled diaper in the garbage and returned to put a fresh one of the squirmy kid.

"One of these days brat, I'm going to get you back for all these dirty diapers," she grumbled to the kid.

Said baby, and poor soul who'd been dubbed the honorable grandson by most everyone, looked up at her, blinked and seemed to smile as a yellow stream shot up and she narrowly avoided the majority of it.

Unfortunately, no one told Naruto babies would or could do such a thing, much less _aim_.

Oh yeah, one day she'd pay the kid back for this headache. One way or another.

* * *

During the year she'd been in the academy she'd gained a lot. An adult besides those at her favorite ramen stand, and the Hokage who didn't spit in her direction.

Though, Hiroshi-sensei wasn't exactly the epitome of generous either. At least he didn't try to kill her with a stare, or sabotague her classwork. But back to the point; She'd gained some social skills she'd severely lacked before, and her first ever friend.

She also grown as a future shinobi. She'd read about some of the jutsu her parents had made, though her mother only had one or two she'd taken time to make, and one wasn't even finished.

The other was mostly notes on her chakra chains in order to recreate them into a jutsu of some sort. Or, maybe if she could recreate them naturally. She didn't think she'd be so lucky to inherit her mother special chakra chains though.

Her father had created a few. The Hiraishin, the Rasengan, and one or two elemental jutsu's, one not being completed, much like the Rasengan in some regards.

So, she decided she wanted to create a jutsu. Now, a prodigy she may be, but even she knew she wouldn't be able to create jutsu's as advanced as her parents. Let it not be said Uzumaki Minako Naruto didn't know how to let loose and have fun every now and then.

Actually, she had a fond love of pranks and tricks, just as much as she liked foxes (her favorite animal, though she'd never tell anyone but her friends seeing as the village had a serious fox complex).

Not long before the genin exams, and after a few small scale pranks she'd decided to pull, roping poor Koji into one where she painted the Hokage monument – though they'd never prove it – she'd created her first ever jutsu, and it seemed to work.

She'd bet her favorite three pronged kunai – which she found a bunch of in her fathers things left to her – that even in a battle it might work as a distraction. As long as it wasn't against more than two or three people, mainly males.

She could still recall the first time she'd used the technique, not in battle, but to see just how effective it could be.

_'Okay, I've done it!' Naruto announced as she jumped from the tree above where she, and Koji trained. _

_Today it seemed he wasn't alone, Shisui and Itachi were also present. She wasn't sure whether to be upset that Itachi's brother wasn't there or not. _

_'Naruto-chan,' Itachi greeted with a brief flash of a smile. _

_Shisui returned the same greeting, but his face was only slightly more open than Itachi's. She figured that had to do with the fact Itachi came from the head of the clan and was the heir, meaning his childhood was probably filled with high expectations from his parents. _

_It would definitely explain all the training he did._

_'So, what have you done, Naru-chibi?' Koji said, smirking at his own nickname given. _

_Though mostly to annoy her. _

_Naruto glared at the youngest Uchiha present. He knew she hated that nickname, she wasn't small, tiny or short! She was just growing slowly, that was all. _

_'I've made my first jutsu!' she announced. _

_Itachi and Shisui's eyebrows nearly disappeared they were raised so quickly and Koji simply blinked lazily at her. She fumed, rolling her eyes and she swore she caught steam pouring from her nostrils in annoyance. _

_'What sort of jutsu?' Shisui asked, and Itachi seemed just as interested. _

_Both had their Sharingan activated but she didn't care, they knew if she wanted she'd tell them not to copy her jutsu's. She was very possessive like that. _

_She only did that for the few family jutsu's she'd begun learning over the year, though, and her taijutsu style was so... unpredictable, since it was slowly becoming her own blend of her family styles they couldn't safely copy it competently. _

_Then there was the respect among each other. She, Shisui and Itachi might not be as close as she and Koji were but the forming bond was there. _

_'It's probably not what you're expecting,' she said, smirking. 'It's actually only good for a distraction in a battle with a small number of enemies.' _

_Koji sighed, he knew that tone of voice. She was up to something. _

_'What did you do now, Naruto?' he asked and she smirked wider, a fox-like mischievousness that made all three Uchiha's hairs stand on end. _

_Itachi and Shisui shared a look, not liking the look on the younger girls face. They knew very well she liked to play pranks in her down time, when she wasn't busy training. They also had their suspicions that she had some help from Koji, though neither kid would ever admit it. _

_'Naru—' whatever Itachi was going to say was stopped by her technique. _

_Naruto's hands flew into a ram seal and she grinned in a fox like manner and said, 'Oiroke no Jutsu' _

_After a three second period the three Uchiha's eyes widened at the sight before them. It was Naruto... but at the same time it wasn't. This Naruto had to be a decade older, around sixteen, maybe eighteen at the most. _

_Her long blonde hair was parted in the back and tied into low, cafe length braids. There was no longer any baby fat, she'd grown taller, probably around 5'7 if they had to guess. _

_The most shocking thing though was she was stark naked, except for two rings of puffy white clouds which blocked the breast and lower area from complete view – not to say much was left to the imagination, they could still see practically everything. _

_Koji, being the youngest simply stared wide eyed, his jaw nearly touching the ground in a very un-Uchiha manner. _

_Shisui and Itachi had the most amusing reactions though, in Naruto's opinion. _

_Both looked very similar to Koji in the shocked department but like adolescent boys, one being around eleven or twelve and the other around fourteen. Blood slowly made it's way from both boys nose, signifying her greatest prank in her mind. It wasn't everyday you got a reaction like that out of a Uchiha. _

_Dropping the jutsu, Naruto fell back onto the ground laughing hysterically. The best part was they'd never be able to forget it – though in later years, after she'd hit adolescence, she'd wonder if that was a good thing or not – thanks to the Sharingan. _

Koji, who hadn't activated his bloodline yet, was saved this shame. Though the poor boy probably wouldn't forget anytime soon. Over all she'd gotten a very un-Uchiha reaction out of her three friends.

Over all she'd found that if she could get that reaction out of three Uchiha's, than only someone not attracted to the female form would be able to withstand it. Or someone with an ungodly amount of will power.

She'd used it sparingly though. It was after all a double edged jutsu, and worked best on perverts, or closet perverts. She'd once used it on Hokage-jiji when he stuck her with babysitting Konohamaru and his two play dates, Moegi and Udon.

Which was really just them laying or crawling around not being older than one, or nearly one in Konohamaru's case. That day had been hell, Konohamaru was bad enough. Thankfully she didn't have to watch them for longer than two hours. Two hours too long.

She was pretty sure she heard Jiji muttering about forbidden scrolls and heart attacks before he was sixty.

She'd explained to everyone who asked – Itachi, Koji, Shisui, and Hokage-jiji – why she'd made such a strange jutsu.

Her answer was simple. She couldn't dream of making more defensive or offensive jutsu's until she understood how to make one. By making such a simple, yet rather detailed jutsu she got some experience before diving head first into it.

Eventually time passed, and with some help from Itachi and Shisui on better chakra control – she'd got really fed up about three weeks before the test and nearly pulverized a tree in her angry state – she'd found a medium ground.

If she concentrated enough, she could make seven Bunshin that would be healthy enough to pass the test. They wouldn't be perfect, but as long as they were good enough, with her other scores and the number she'd create she should pass well enough.

She'd told Itachi and Shisui she could simply make a Raiton Kage Bunshin, though she'd only been able to make about five currently. She knew she had a lot of chakra, even for a nearly six year old, but she didn't want to chance killing herself because she over shot it.

Apparently that pleased her two older friends – and by this point she could safely say she saw the two slightly distant Uchiha's as her friends. She trusted them, almost as much as she trusted Koji – knowing she had enough common sense not to rush into high ranked jutsu's so fast.

When asked why she bothered trying to make passable Bunshin if she could create a solid Raiton Kage Bunshin, she simply replied that she didn't want to give up the element of surprise. Considering they were ninja, this was reason enough.

On the day of the exam Naruto found herself visiting Hokage-jiji before heading to the academy.

"So," Sarutobi began, looking fondly at Naruto, a smile forming on his face around his pipe.

He'd truly seen her grow up in the last year. Letting her begin the academy had been a very good decision, her eyes didn't have the exact same loneliness they once did. He never thought he'd be thanking an Uchiha for that fact though.

He continued, pushing his thoughts aside.

"Your exam is today."

Naruto frowned slightly, wringing her hands together in front of her and nodded.

"Yes, I'm a little worried. You know how bad I am with Bunshin."

Sarutobi nodded and he knew the reason why. Kushina had been much the same, and it had only been from salvaged scrolls from her homeland and family that she had learned to make a clone.

Of course hers were Kage Bunshin or her preferred form, the Raiton Kage Bunshin, or Mizu Bunshin.

He also knew those scrolls detailed those two jutsu's, along with some brief details on how to work the Kage Bunshin – which he would happily admit had belonged to Uzushiogakure before they allowed their distant cousins, the Senju, to make it a Konohagakure jutsu.

A Forbidden one, seeing as very few had the chakra reserves to use it for more than five or so clones safely.

Even he, the Shinobi no Kami, could only make around a hundred in one go in his prime. Kushina on the other hand could make two hundred and not feel tired at all. And this was before she'd become the Kyuubi's new Jinchuuriki.

He recalled for the genin exam, Kushina had made the required number of Bunshin by using the Mizu Bunshin, something she'd begun learning before even coming to Konoha. It had been a bit of a shock for the examiners.

But then, Kushina always said Uzumaki's never did what was expected. They did the seemingly impossible.

From what Sarutobi could recall, the only time she'd ever used a regular Bunshin she'd always make way more than required. In the hundreds if she had too, but even then they weren't perfect like someone with less chakra and more control.

He wasn't surprised Naruto had the same problem. He also knew she'd either use one of her mothers preferred Bunshin forms, though he was hopeful she didn't try to create a true Kage Bunshin yet, being so young, even with so much chakra it might hurt her in the long run.

It wasn't on the forbidden scroll for nothing after all.

"Well, you simply have to create a Bunshin. The minimum is not a rule that can't be broken, nor must it be a regular Bunshin," he said, seeing no problem telling her what he knew she already knew.

Naruto smiled, nodding.

"I know that, I'm just nervous," she said, nodding. A moment later she smiled slightly and looked up at him. "Well, I have to go if I don't want to be late, Jiji. See you after the exam!"

Sarutobi waved after the young blonde who was like a granddaughter to him and returned to his work, frowning at the sudden awareness of the pile of paperwork in front of him.

Sighing, he reached out tentatively for the first piece of evil known only to a Kage. No matter how hard they tried, no Kage seemed to be able to defeat their worst enemy. Paperwork.

* * *

Naruto would deny it until her dying day, but when Hiroshi-sensei had told her she'd passed – after having decided on creating twenty regular Bunshin (around thirteen being healthy and the others being a little pale and slightly less spry looking). Well to be blunt, she'd almost cried in joy.

She'd settled for smiling one of the widest, truest smiles she remembered grinning, her eyes sparkling like crystal caught in the light.

Looking at the available Hitai-ate's she had chosen one with a blue fabric, but it was a lighter blue, close to the cerulean of her eyes, unlike the darker blue of the others.

She had nodded at her sensei and the other examiners before walking out of the room, her new hitai-ate, the symbol of her success, around her forehead.

It was only partially seen behind her bangs but was also obvious since everyone would be looking for it to see if she'd passed or not.

"I did it," she said, smiling happily as she returned to her seat next to Koji.

The raven haired boy looked at and smiled slightly, probably the most an Uchiha would smile in public, being the proud stoic bunch they were - though Koji was always a bit more open with his emotions than others she'd met or knew.

Koji himself had his own, the standard dark blue fabric, tied around his forehead much like her own. His bangs falling contently around and over it. Though it was not nearly as hidden as hers.

"I didn't think you wouldn't," he said. "You've been training like crazy since I've known you, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, knowing what he said was true. She had been training a lot since they'd become friends, and a lot of her progress was thanks to him. Especially her taijutsu.

If not for him training with her she'd still be training against air, and there was only so much improvement one could do with that method.

Especially with the Uzumaki clan style.

She didn't have many friends, the other academy students didn't outright scorn her but they didn't actually take the time to become her friend either. Some were down right mean to her because she was younger than them.

"Alright, well," Hiroshi-sensei began as he entered the room again, a small smile on his aged face. "For those of you who graduated, congratulations. To those who did not, there is always next time. For those who did, return in two days for your team assignments. Dismissed."

Slowly the class made there way out, many who had passed talking to their friends who had, and some who had passed were talking to friends that had not. Cheering them up, it seemed.

Koji and Naruto were two of the last to leave, as always.

"You want to go to Ichiraku's?" Koji asked, suddenly.

Naruto looked over to her friend and grinned shortly.

"Sounds like a plan. I haven't eaten there in a few days..." she mused, and Koji shrugged.

Naruto smirked and looked to her friend with a mischievousness in her eyes.

"Come on, I'll race you there. Last one there has to pay the bill!" she said and took off running, leaving Koji to stand frozen for a moment in shock before taking off after his blonde friend.

"Naruto, wait!" he cried.

He knew how much that girl could put away in one meal, he really didn't want to loose and have to pay for the entire bill. He'd be broke, and Kami knew that girl was stingy with her money.


	4. Team Ironic

**So, another chapter. I hope you'll all enjoy this one like the others. **

**Now someone asked about Naruto and Koji being together, and while I did consider it in the very beginning. Because I love my original character, Koji, it just wouldn't work. There relationship is more of a platonic-best friend bond. And I have plans for a sort of romance for Koji - more of a underdeveloped crush. **

**A couple asked about the Uchiha massacre, and while it will be happening things will be a little different. Unfortunately, like in canon only Sasuke will remain, well besides Itachi. It's just how I've planed it from the beginning. **

**Now as for the poll for Naruto pairing, currently Gaara is in the lead with eight votes and Sasuke has five. I am leaving this open for one more day, so please go vote if you haven't already. Also images of the characters can be found on my profile.  
**

* * *

**Existence Arc. **

**Uzu No Musume.**

**Chapter 3: Team Ironic. **

"This is probably the most boring day of my life," Koji muttered as he laid on the ground at his and Naruto's training ground, hands behind his head and eyes focused on the clouds.

Naruto twitched beside him, in much the same position, except her right leg was brought up and crossed over her knee. How that was comfortable for her he'd never know, but he'd learned in the year he'd known her that Naruto was nothing if not unpredictable, and crazy flexible.

"Kami forbid, if this is the most bored you've ever been," Naruto laughed, smirking over at the older boy.

He snorted, rolling his eyes at the jab at his laziness. He knew he wasn't the common Uchiha but he couldn't help if he was easily bored.

"What do you think about tomorrow?" she asked. "Do you think we'll be on a team together?"

"Hn," he grunted and he heard the blonde blow out a exaggerated breath of frustration.

"Hn, is that the only word you Uchiha know?" she grumbled.

"Now, Naruto-chan, that's not fair," a familiar voice spoke up.

Sitting up, Naruto smiled at the appearance of Itachi, but frowned upon seeing the boy beside him.

"Itachi-Kun," she greeted, smiling, and then frowning added, "Duck-butt."

Sasuke's face darkened and turned slightly red in his anger, and from semi-holding his breath. Itachi twitched slightly, holding back a chuckle at the nickname his newest friend had given his little brother. Koji, didn't care to restrain himself and snickered, earning a glare from the younger Uchiha heir.

"My name is Sasuke, not duck-butt," he nearly snarled at the blonde in front of him. He didn't know what it was but she made him so angry at times, and they didn't even know each other well.

Maybe one reason she got under his skin was she was his age, even a few months younger, and yet she had been to the academy and from the shinny hitai-ate on her forehead she'd graduated.

She had accomplished what he wanted, and he was still stuck trying to prove he could be as good as Itachi to his father.

Not to mention he'd heard his mother talking recently. The Hokage had asked her to take up an assignment that could be long term, but mostly inside the village.

His father wasn't to fond of the idea if the arguments he'd heard the other night were anything to go by, but his mother was a stubborn woman. He didn't think she'd give up anytime soon.

"Hmm, maybe when you apologize to the ducks for stealing their hairstyle," Naruto sniped, and Koji coughed, and Itachi had no choice but to bite the inside of his cheek.

"Blonde witch," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto barely caught it but only glared in retaliation.

She didn't want to upset Itachi by attacking and possibly maiming his brother. Who was still a civilian and probably not a match for her – though she could be wrong. If he was anything like Itachi or another Uchiha he was bound to give her a run for her precious gama-chan.

Part of her wanted to challenge the Teme to a fight but the other part of her didn't think it such a good idea or worth it in the end.

"Teme," she shot back without thinking much on it.

Itachi coughed, and smirked slightly. Placing a restraining and calming hand on his little brothers shoulder.

"So, I see you've graduated. Congratulations Naru-chan, Koji-kun."

Koji nodded, smirking slightly in a way Naruto figured was a way the clan smiled when in the presence of each other. She actually didn't think she'd ever seen a true smile on any Uchiha, the closest being from Koji and even his seemed forced somewhat. Or like he was holding back.

"Thanks, Itachi-san," Koji replied.

"You actually graduated then?" Sasuke said, looking at Naruto in some form of disbelief. Though he'd already deduced she had from her headband.

Naruto glared slightly, crossing her arms as she stood up completely. She was only an inch or so shorter than Sasuke. So she could stare him in the eyes comfortably.

"Yes, you didn't think I could?" she asked.

"You're probably the dobe," Sasuke said, shrugging.

Naruto blinked, and Koji cringed when his friend began to tense and turn red. Sasuke was going to wish he'd never said that.

"TAKE THAT BACK, TEME! I AM NOT THE DOBE, DATTABANE!" she exclaimed, and Sasuke, Itachi and Koji all cringed.

"Kami, did you have to shout so loud, dobe!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto shook, but than sighed.

"I hate you, Teme," she said, almost emotionally.

Sasuke looked at her, smirked and snorted.

"Hn, I hate you too, Dobe."

Itachi sighed, shaking his head. Those two were either going to be best friends, married one day or kill one another. Maybe all three at this rate.

Though then again, they might just kill each other if the lightning exchanged between their glaring eyes were anything to go by.

* * *

The day of team assignment came the next day, and she met Koji at their half way mark, where they continued towards the academy together. Upon arriving it was obvious everyone else had the same idea as them and had wanted to get there quickly, as to find out their team assignments.

"Sit down, everyone!" Hiroshi-sensei told everyone sharply as he entered the now noisy and active classroom.

It was only a few seconds before everyone settled down, knowing it was never a good idea to test Hiroshi-sensei's patience. His temper was legendary, and his punishments unorthodox.

He'd once made one of the trouble makers in the class run around the perimeter of Konoha a dozen times, which was probably quite a few miles all in one – how many she wasn't positive and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Good, now I'm going to start listing the teams and your jonin sensei's. You will meet them today and they'll take it from there. After today I wont be you sensei any longer, and you will be genin of Konohagakure. I expect you to live up to that responsibility, because once you become a genin there is only two directions you can go, towards future promotions in rank, or failure."

Hiroshi-sensei said this seriously, his eyes trailing over all of them, not singling anyone out of his speech. After a moment he nodded and looked down to the paper in his hands which Naruto was sure listed each team.

"Alright then, Team 2 is Yamanaka Jin, Aburame Hoshi..."

Naruto drowned out the rest of it, thinking of other things. Her team, who her sensei would be, and even working on her first jutsu, which was actually her finishing one of her mothers jutsu's. A jutsu which would recreate her chakra chains, sort of. It was slow going, and rather involved.

It seemed almost impossible, seeing as her mothers special chains were almost like a bloodline. They involved no hand signs, were powered simply by her will and chakra. But she also knew that they were not a bloodline, they were unique only to her mother.

She would try hard though, she didn't have much to connect herself to her parents. Being able to use a form of her mother special chakra chains, even if they weren't the real deal would be her newest goal for the the next year or however long it took her.

Soon she came back out of her thoughts in time to hear Hiroshi-sensei announce the next team.

"Team 7 will be Uchiha Koji, Uzumaki Naruto, and Inuzuka Kasumi. Your jōnin sensei will be Uchiha Mikoto."

The reaction was instant. Koji's head snapped up so fast she thought she heard his neck break. Her jaw nearly dropped, but she kept herself composed enough to stop that and her eyes widened.

The last member of the newly formed Team Seven, Inuzuka Kasumi was just groaning, muttering under her breath and shooting light glares at Naruto and curious looks at Koji.

Her dog companion, a female puppy with oddly bright blue eyes that looked like a body of clear blue water sat in her lap, just as caught off guard as her partner.

"Why do I have to be partnered with them, sensei!" Kasumi finally shouted.

It was no secret Kasumi disliked Naruto, though the only reason Naruto could think of was her beating Kasumi in Taijutsu nearly half a year after staring the academy. This was after she'd gained some experience in her family clan style, she figured she may have hurt the girls pride.

Though she hadn't seemed like that sour of a looser, so she could be wrong of the reason.

"Usually we place the rookie of the year, with the kunoichi of the year and the dead last. This years batch of genin are a bit odd. While Koji is the rookie of the year, and Naruto the kunoichi of the year...you are not technically the dead last, who has already been placed. But you are close enough when it comes to the written and other areas that you were teamed with the two thought to help you to improve the most," Hiroshi-sensei said, shrugging.

Kasumi flushed, her head lowered and Naruto could hear a few snickers from others around them. Koji sighed, thinking of how he'd survive surrounded by so many females. Naruto was moody enough on her own.

A few moments latter the new genin teams stood waiting for their sensei's. Soon enough it was just Team Seven, and Team Four.

"So, our Sensei. She's part of your clan?" Naruto asked, looking at her friend and Kasumi looked at her new teammates interested in what would be said.

"Hn," Koji said, watching as a blonde man – though nowhere near the shade or brightness as Naruto – arrived for team four. "She's the wife of the head of the clan. She's Itachi and Sasuke's mother."

Naruto's eyes widened, and Kasumi blinked, not really understanding who Itachi or Sasuke were. She did understand the first part though, she herself was from the branch family – for lack of a better term – of the Inuzuka clan, her mother having actually married into the clan.

The main reason why her senses of smell weren't quite on the same level as other Inuzuka clan members. Though only by a little, her sense of smell was still close. The other reason was she was still young, a pup by her clan standards until she hit puberty. So her senses were bound to be a bit less.

"I'm glad to see you three getting along," a sudden voice interrupted them.

Glancing up they were met with a woman, in her early to mid thirties, possibly mid to late twenties. She was fair-skinned, with a kindness about her – unusual for most Uchiha in Naruto's opinion – but also had a firm seriousness about her too.

Her hair was black, and long, pulled back into a low ponytail, long bangs hanging on either side of her face that roughly framed her cheeks and black eyes. It was easy to see Sasuke in the woman, they shared many similarities, like their bangs for instance and color of their hair and skin.

She wore a sleeveless, dark blue, high color Chinese style battle dress with black biker shorts under it which were barely seen from under the thigh length battle dress. There was red edging on it and on the left shoulder area above the heart was the Uchiha clan symbol.

On her arms were forearm length black fingerless gloves, with metal plates sown into the back of the hands from the knuckles almost to the wrist. She had on black shinobi sandals and bandages were wrapped from her ankles to her shins.

Around her waist, which was rather slim for a mother of two, she wore her hitai-ate, which had the metal plate with the leaf symbol faced to the side slightly as it laid almost loosely on her waist. Situated towards the back of her left side, the opposite side as her forehead plate was facing, was a black hip pouch, similar to the two Naruto wore.

Around her left thigh, were a width of bandages and a black Shuriken Holster, again similar to the two Naruto wore on her right upper and lower thigh.

"Mikoto-Sama," Koji said, bowing slightly in respect.

Naruto smiled and followed her friends example, and blinking Kasumi shrugged and did the same. Mizumaru simply barked softly in greeting.

Mikoto chuckled and smiled lightly, looking at her team. It had been a long time since she'd done any sort of mission, having basically retired after Itachi was born. Yet, like she'd told Fugaku, the Hokage could bring her out of retirement at anytime, being recalled.

Usually that only happened for wars that shinobi were needed for, but there was an odd amount of jōnin willing to take a team this year. So he'd gone to retired jōnin. She was his first choice since the team would have an Uchiha on it, and her Sharingan may come in handy for training Koji should he activate the bloodline.

She herself didn't use her bloodline often, she didn't like too. She liked to earn her abilities, and the Sharingan had always seemed more like a burden than a gift. An easy way out of learning, so she'd always tried to avoid using it unless in a life or death situation.

Looking at her team though, she couldn't help but catch her breath at the new team seven. She remembered when she'd been a genin and the newness to it, the excitement. She also couldn't help but linger her gaze on the girl in the middle, the youngest there.

The sunset haired girl had to be the same age as her youngest son, and as she gazed at the whisker cheeked girl with large cerulean eyes. The girl was the spitting image of her parents. Her hair was to her shoulder blades, and while it was a tiny bit on the messy side, it was nearly as tame as Kushina's had been now.

She'd caught a glimpse of the girl when she'd had much shorter hair, and back then she'd looked a bit more like her father with the unruly mess of spikes.

Now she actually looked like a little girl, so much like Kushina and Minato it stung for a moment. She and Kushina had been rather close friends, she'd been around the same age as them, despite her husband being a few years older and as such not in their year of new genin.

She'd actually been on the same team as Minato, the former team seven. She'd been a bit of a sullen girl back then since her parents were arranging a marriage for her into the main branch of the Uchiha – which led her to marry Fugaku, who would become the head of the clan by the time they had Itachi.

Though it hadn't been about love in the beginning she and Fugaku had found love together, though sometimes he was a hard man to be around.

Naruto, Mikoto recalled her name was. Then she recalled the big stir the young girl had caused a year before when she'd became friends with Koji, Shisui's younger brother she thought. She remembered many were not pleased with the development but soon it became a regular occurrence.

Even Fugaku didn't seem to care when it came out that Itachi was friends with the girl, as was Shisui. He'd actually chuckled shortly when Sasuke had growled out how annoying the girl was and how he was going to get better than her.

It had amused her because she recalled one of the last times she'd seen Kushina she'd hoped that Sasuke and Naruto would be best friends and even on the same team one day.

_'Looks like that's not to be, Kushi-chan,'_ she thought fondly to herself. _'though there is still time for them to be friends someday, if they can stop trying to verbally strangle one another that is.' _

Koji of course she was familiar with, though mostly in passing. He had the standard Uchiha looks but his eyes were not the usual black but a dark gray that could appear black at times. Odd and unique to him she supposed.

The girl beside Naruto, was also a surprise because at first glance she thought the girl was Nohara Rin in the flesh. But upon closer inspection she realized it was not.

The girl had the looks of the girl she once knew and that had been on the genin team Minato had taught, but her hair was longer, just past her shoulders and dark crimson, and very choppy, borderline spiky.

One single spike like bang fell over her hitai-ate and laid at the bridge of her nose. Two red fang birthmarks were one either cheek, and that was a clear sign of the Inuzuka. Her eyes were a sharp burgundy, though almost ranging into purple they were such a strange shade of burgundy.

At her side was a medium size puppy with golden brown fur with white and large unique aqua blue eyes.

"Please, it's just Mikoto-sensei when we're training," Mikoto finally said, coming out of her thoughts after what felt like forever but was really only a minute or so.

The three genin nodded and Mikoto took a deep breath and nodded as if to herself.

"Now, lets go towards the Hokage Monument. It's where we'll usually meet if I don't tell you to go to our training ground directly or somewhere else," Mikoto said and she turned to the door.

She didn't need to look back to know her team was following her.

* * *

Once at the bottom of the large monument, which was actually rather secluded, Mikoto sat under one of the only large trees and looked at the three before her.

"Sit down, today we'll just be introducing ourselves," she said, and the genin did as she asked. "Like I said we'll be introducing ourselves. I'll go first to give an example."

Thinking for a moment she began, "I'm Uchiha Mikoto, I'm the mother of two sons, Itachi and Sasuke. Before this last three days I was a retired jōnin and housewife. I was recalled by the Hokage to become your jōnin sensei. I like many things I guess, to many to really count. Spending time with my family is of course at the top of the list. I dislike taking the easy way out of anything and those who don't try and make themselves believe they can't do something."

Looking at the three she pointed to Kasumi.

"How about you go next, and then Naruto and Koji," Mikoto said and Kasumi took a deep breath and nodded.

"Um, I'm Inuzuka Kasumi, this is my partner, Mizumaru. I am the older twin of my brother, Kaisei, who failed the exam this time around," she began, saying the last part sort of sadly. "I like watching the stars, helping out in the kennels and training with Mizumaru. I dislike those who are mean to animals, especially dogs. I also dislike show offs."

Mikoto nodded, and watched as Naruto took her turn.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm the youngest here. I live on my own, and I am the last of my parents clans. I like ramen, red-bean soup, training, and orange juice. I dislike milk and fresh vegetables. I also hate those who discriminate against others for things not in their control or for no reason at all. I dream to one day prove that I'm more than a pest, to earn my existence, maybe even to one day be the first female Hokage, dattebane!" she exclaimed, a large foxy-grin making its way onto her face.

Mikoto choked slightly on her own breath at how much like her parents the girl truly was, the best of both, though definitely with her father's coloring (even if there was traces of Kushina's red in her hair as well) and drive.

"Hn, I'm Uchiha Koji. I have an older brother, Shisui. I like relaxing, training, and swimming. I dislike ice cream, peppers and idiots who don't realize things wont always fall into their laps, and use their family name like it can buy them the world," Koji said.

Mikoto smiled softly before standing, turning rather serious.

"Good, I think I'll enjoy teaching you three. That is if you can pass the test tomorrow," she said and smirked at the shocked looks on their faces.

"What!" they exclaimed.

She laughed shortly.

"Yes, you'll not like it but usually only about three teams pass their jōnin sensei's tests. The academy test is just to weed out those ready to become genin from those who still need some time in the academy. The real test begins tomorrow."

"What sort of test, sensei?" Naruto asked, a small frown on her face.

"A test of survival, more or less," she said. "I expect you all at training ground five by eight tomorrow morning, if you eat or not is up to you. You are dismissed for today."

With a nod Mikoto disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"That was unexpected," Naruto said. "I never thought she'd be our sensei."

Kasumi frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean, Uzumaki?" Kasumi asked.

Naruto blinked.

"You know, my name is Naruto. I don't care if you call me by it, I'd like us to become friends," Naruto said, frowning. "We'll be teammates after all. And I didn't mean anything negative by it, actually I'm excited. Mikoto-sensei seems like a great sensei."

"Hn." Koji nodded.

Kasumi looked at the two and then down to Mizumaru who barked as if to agree with Naruto.

"Fine," she said. "I guess we can try. Well I have to head home, I'll see you both tomorrow I guess."

Kasumi waved as she ran off with Mizumaru and Koji and Naruto turned to each other before heading off towards the center of the village.

"Things will get interesting from here," Koji said, smiling and Naruto laughed and nodded.

"Definitely."


	5. Survival Of The Fittest

**So, I am glad everyone likes the story so far. Things will begin to move forward after the next chapter, I think. Before long we'll hit the point of the Uchiha Massacre, and fall into the canon timeline some. **

**I figure about five or six more chapters before we reach the team seven we all know. **

**Also, I know there are quite a few original characters, that is because Naruto became a genin years before canon. Canons we know didn't become her classmates, and I don't think Iruka became a Chunin or a teacher at that point in time. And of course, Naru-chan needed teammates. **

**Also the poll is over and Gaara won by eight votes. In the future I will probably post a story for Sasuke and a Fem!Naru but that's in the future. **

* * *

**Existence Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 4: Survival Of The Fittest. **

Mikoto arrived at the training ground five minutes after eight to find her team waiting patiently. She noticed instantly that the animosity around Kasumi and Naruto was less then the day before.

She had hope this would mean they could pass her test. She'd been here earlier to set up a few traps for the test, and at her waist was two bells.

In the beginning she debated giving them the bell test, the same test her own sensei had given her and her genin team. The same test Minato had used on his team years later. It was a test that was basically passed through team seven by some twist of fate or irony.

It had all started with the Third Hokage's own sensei, and Sarutobi had passed it to Jiraiya who passed it to Minato, and Minato's soul surviving student, Hatake Kakashi would probably use it should he ever get a team.

Of course, being the only other member of Team Jiraiya – since Minato had died sealing Kyuubi and Masaru had died two years latter on a mission – she felt it only right that this new team seven be given a similar test. So while it was more about survival and teamwork, instead of simply teamwork and skill, the bells still played a part.

They would need to get them from her, the final part of the test. She wouldn't take it easy of them, well not as easy as some sensei's might. She was a firm believer in hard work, and she believed this team may be one of the best out of this years genin with the right motivation.

"Ah, I hope you slept well last night. You'll need all the energy you can get," she said, and sitting on one of the tree stumps in the cleared out area she removed the two small bells from her right side.

"Yes Sensei," Kasumi said, Mizumaru standing to attention at her side.

All three looked ready but the real test would come after she'd explained the rules and such.

"Good," she said, and then held her arm out and showed them the two dangling bells on blue string. "This is your test."

The genin blinked.

"Um, Mikoto-sensei, those are bells," Naruto said, "What are we supposed to do with them, exactly?"

Mikoto smirked slightly.

"Good question, and that's simple," she said, clinching them up into her fist and lowering her hand to her side. "You're going to get them from me. Think of it like a recon and retrieval mission. You have to safely work to get these bells from me, the one who fails gets sent back to the academy. Also, you should come at me with intent to kill. That is, when you find me."

"Huh?" Kasumi mumbled, blinking. "Find you? But you're right here, Sensei."

Koji looked passively at their sensei and then his eyes widened, and he stood up straighter.

"No she isn't," he said and Mikoto smirked and was gone in a puff of smoke.

Naruto swore under her breath.

"Kage Bunshin," she muttered.

Kasumi looked at her two teammates in surprise.

"Shadow clone, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "Never mind, come on Mizumaru. We have to get those bells."

"Wai – " Naruto began but the crimson haired girl and her partner were gone before she could get it out. "Stupid, who knows what sensei has set up for us out there."

Koji nodded, stuffing his hands into his pocket.

"Right, and not to mention it's suicide to face a jōnin alone. At least for a genin. We need to work together or we stand no chance," he said, sighing.

"I'll send out some Raiton Kage Bunshin, try to get some information. Maybe send one to find Kasumi and Mizumaru. If we're lucky she can handle herself for a while. She's was pretty skilled when it came to the practical, just a bit reckless."

Koji snorted.

"Coming from you, that's rich," he teased and she glared at him before forming the seals and creating ten Raiton Kage Bunshin.

"Hiya Boss," one said, saluting her.

"I want you to split up and dispel if you find anything interesting. Or if you find a trap, trip it and dispel that way. One of you needs to find Kasumi, don't approach her but dispel and we'll take it from there," Naruto said, and Koji nodded in agreement for her plan.

"Right," the Bunshin replied and took off.

"I guess we wait," Koji said, sitting down on a tree stump.

Naruto sighed, and nodded.

* * *

Mikoto stood on a tree branch, trying to see over the area. She could barely make out two shapes still at the training clearing, and frowned. She had noticed Kasumi taking off on her own with Mizumaru, which disappointed her but she had expected one of them to break off thinking they could work better alone.

Leaning against the tree she looking over when she saw Kasumi approaching at a fast speed. Shaking her head she waited for the girl to arrive when she saw a shape following Kasumi. Naruto, but if that was Naruto... Mikoto smirked.

Like mother, Like daughter, she thought to herself. She should have realized Naruto knew a solid Bunshin technique, and she could see that it wasn't a regular Bunshin. Much to energetic, from academy files and the exam report itself, Naruto had passed but barely with the number of Bunshin she created. Most were healthy enough but none were perfect.

Mikoto noticed Kasumi trip one of her traps and was impressed that the girl had dodged the senbon launched at her from the sides. But barely it seemed, if the rips in her sleeves were anything to go by. She would be surprised if they had grazed skin.

"Is she here, Mizumaru?" Kasumi asked her companion and the dog began to track her scent.

Pulling a smoke bomb from her hip pouch she tossed it as they got much too close to her tree and the area was covered seconds later. A pungent scent ran across the area as Mikoto began run along the trees for a new spot, this time closer to the clearing of the training ground where they'd met.

* * *

"She's been caught in a scented smoke bomb, probably to cover Sensei's tracks from Mizumaru," Naruto said as the last of her clones dispelled. The information was not as clear as if she'd been able to use a real Kage Bunshin but it was clear enough she'd gathered the information they needed.

Most the traps her clones found were tripped, which left most the area free. But who knew how many Mikoto-sensei had really set up.

"I'll go get her," Koji said, "Stay close by and see if you can encounter Sensei. She only has so many places to hide."

Naruto nodded and gave the boy the directions needed to find Kasumi. After he was out of sight she began to scan the area and made three more Raiton Kage Bunshin and sent them out close by. It was only a minute or two one dispelled on it's own having caught sight of Mikoto sensei.

Creating one more clone she ordered it to stay there and ran off in the direction and engage Mikoto-sensei in a fight. Hopefully a distraction for when Koji and Kasumi could get needed information from the clone she'd left behind. She grimaced as the other two who'd been sent out dispelled. The memories may not be as clear but they were enough to jumble her focus.

"Where is she?" she muttered to herself, looking around.

She knew the woman was here somewhere, but the information didn't exactly clarify where like a Kage Bunshin would.

"Above you," a voice said and she looked up in time to jump back to avoid a heel drop. "Good, you're fast."

Mikoto turned and fell into a slightly unique version of the Uchiha Taijutsu style. Something she'd modified to her own use so as to not be predictable to her opponents or enemy nins.

"First lesson, Taijutsu," she said and watched as the blonde girl fell into a stance which was slightly relaxed but also very aware.

She recognized it vaguely as the style Kushina used. If the girl was learning this then Sarutobi must have given her the family scrolls left by Kushina and Minato already. She doubted the girl had mastered if yet but she'd still have to be on guard.

"Right," Naruto muttered and though she usually liked to wait for her opponent to attack her first she decided to make the first move.

Mikoto used the back of her steel plated gloves to block of knife strike and turned to the side to avoid the open palm strike to her abdomen. Grabbing the girls outstretched hand she spun and threw Naruto into a tree.

She wasn't too surprised when the girl ran up it and flipped off it. The girl had speed, agility and flexibility on her side. Not to mention stamina she'd only seen in Kushina.

When Naruto landed the fight began again, and Mikoto had to admit with more training the blonde would be a deadly fighter hand to hand. She was sure the girls intelligence and family styles were the main part of this, seeing as she was positive she saw a few moves that were not Kushina's but Minato's thrown into the usual Uzumaki style. It was by a hair she was able to avoid those hits, and thanks to Kawarimi of course.

Everyone underestimated the power of a well placed Kawarimi.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique )."

Mikoto's eyes widened and she blocked a punch from Naruto and jump up into a tree and landed safely away from the great fire that roared at her from behind. Naruto also moved out of the way, seconds before Mikoto had even realized having known Koji had snuck up from behind. Kasumi was at his side, Mizumaru in front of her ready to attack when ordered.

Mikoto smiled, realizing there must have somehow been a plan. Naruto using her taijutsu as a distraction of some sort, knowing that while she could have ended their fight sooner having more experience that she'd want to test Naruto's skills.

"Smart," she said as she jumped down to stand in the center of the gap between the three genin. "Now, lesson two, ninjutsu."

"Huh, she's so fast," Kasumi gasped as Mikoto began racing through seals.

"Crap," Koji gasped, realizing what sort of jutsu it was, having seen Shisui do it once. "Move!"

"Katon: Karyū Endan ( Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet )!" Exhaling a great flame shot forward, much bigger and hotter than Koji's had been, though this was a different technique.

Mikoto knew Koji had grabbed Mizumaru and Kasumi and darted away, and that had been one of the only reasons she released it so strongly. If that had actually hit she might have lost two of her genin, or at the very least injured them badly.

"Wind Release: Twister Shot!" Naruto called after going through the seals needed.

This was one of the few jutsu's she knew besides her clones. It had been one of the ones listed amongst her father's scrolls, and had taken her months to get the skill level where she could actually control it.

Mikoto was a little more than surprised to turn and see the jutsu coming at her.

As she jumped to avoid it she felt something snag at her side and saw Mizumaru darting off back towards Kasumi, jingling of bells making her smile as she avoided the twister like wind jutsu.

As the jutsu dissipated she breathed deeply and grinned, hands on her hips. She was impressed. She had seen more out of Koji and Naruto, both having at least one rather impressive jutsu up their sleeves. Koji's was almost expected seeing as it was a common Uchiha fire jutsu learned young, but Naruto's was a surprise. It was a rather impressive jutsu for one so young.

But she also knew Naruto had a load of chakra, much like her mother before her. If not more when she was older.

As for Kasumi, she hadn't truly seem much of the girls skill, and she had a feeling that without her canine partner she might be at a larger disadvantage, and was more suited to tracking and besides the Inuzuka clan techniques she'd probably make a good medic.

Considering who the girls aunt was, Mikoto thought it would be a good idea to have the girl look into Medical ninjutsu in the future. After all, the girls aunt, Nohara Rin, had been rather good in the medical arts.

She'd also have to improve on the girls teamwork with more than Mizumaru and her knowledge of Jutsu and Taijutsu.

"Well, I'm impressed. Though I didn't get to the last lesson, genjutsu, but I think we can go into that another day. You three must be hungry," she said, and as if to agree three stomachs growled, though Kasumi by far was the loudest.

Mikoto suspected the girl hadn't eaten at all that morning.

"What about the test?" Kasumi asked. "Did we pass?"

Mikoto looked at the bells Kasumi now held and tilted her head.

"Well, I don't know. Who gets the bells?" she asked, and she saw the sudden realization dawn on Kasumi as she looked at her two teammates and down at Mizumaru.

For a moment Mikoto was sure the girl would keep a bell and give one to one of her teammates, though which one she had no idea. Finally Kasumi sighed and held one out to Koji and tossed the other towards Naruto.

"It wouldn't be right to keep one, I didn't do much. It was Naruto who kept you distracted and gathered most the information. Koji played second distraction and the sneak attack. And it was Mizumaru who was able to snag the bells, if anyone goes back to the academy it should be me and Mizumaru," Kasumi said, head lowered sadly.

Mikoto grinned wider.

"Great! You all pass!"

Naruto and Koji smiled, having realized this was the last part of the test and Kasumi blinked, head snapping up in surprise.

"What?"

Mikoto nodded.

"Yeah, the test was mostly about teamwork and your individual skills. Like I said before, it was sort of like a recon and retrieval mission. You didn't do much, that's true but you're important to the team. In the future we'll work on things that need to be worked on, like getting you to the point were if you are separated from Mizumaru you'll still be able to fight back. But we'll discuss more on this later, right now I think we should all head to lunch."

The three new genin trailed behind their sensei back to the village, all of them tired one way or another. Even Naruto was feeling the strain from the test – the last jutsu having taken some control and her ability to control her chakra being rather poor even with training it.

"Well, at least we're now official genin," Naruto said, smiling.

Mizumaru barked in happy agreement and Kasumi smiled, and Koji did his own version of a smile-smirk.

"Well, lets go get lunch to celebrate," Kasumi said, "What do you guys want?"

Koji groaned and Naruto's eyes lit up.

"RAMEN!" she exclaimed, taking off towards Ichiraku's.

Kasumi blinked.

"Wha-what?" she asked, looking at Koji.

He sighed.

"You'll see," he muttered. "We better catch up before she gets too far ahead."

Kasumi nodded, and followed after Koji and her blonde teammate. For some reason she felt like she'd made a mistake by asking what they would like to eat instead of just choosing herself.


	6. First Complication and Realization

**Sorry this is so late, but here it is.  
**

**Now, to answer some reviews. **

**First someone asked about the catch phrase of Naruto's. I want to thank them for correcting my mistake in spelling it, and it will be corrected from now on. **

**Also the reason I chose to go with Dattebane instead of Naruto's canon Dattebayo is because from all the googling research I've found Dattebane is the female version, but I'm American and the information could be incorrect. **

**The main reason before I knew this was because I wanted her to have one mroe thing in common with Kushina other then her hair being more tame and her apperance looking a bit more like her mother. **

**Now, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as I can. **

* * *

**Existence Arc. **

**Uzu No Musume.**

**Chapter 5: First Complication and Realization. **

When July became August, Naruto was sure she'd become so used to D-Rank missions that time would breeze by and before long Mikoto-sensei would announce that they'd would move up a rank.

C-Ranks she could handle, Itachi and Shisui had told her how all genin started on D-Rank, which was basically teamwork building skills, in the form of charity work around the village. But in the end they were starting to grate on her nerves.

It wasn't that she minded to much, it was easy with her stamina – well, sometimes anyways, she despised some of the jobs – it was the employers themselves. Nearly all of them took one look at her face, her whisker birthmarks, and their eyes became that unbearable cold glare.

The look that just screamed that they wished she were dead and they had many ideas on how to help her achieve this.

She was past the point where it hurt her feelings exactly, but the look drove her over and under the bridge in terms of sanity.

After the first month of D-Ranks she just wanted to pull those cold eyes from their heads and crush them, but she restrained herself. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, her temper was always pretty explosive and bottling it up was never a good thing.

When August bled into September and then into October she was at her breaking point, to add insult to injury, the tenth was her birthday. It was also the day her parents died.

She wished she had names for them, but alas she was still on last name basis with them. Though sometimes Koji would look at her weirdly, as if she should have realized something a long time ago that she hadn't.

The cherry on top was the fact it was also the Kyuubi festival, and to her that was Friday the 13th... times ten. For six years – well, technically she couldn't recall the first year and half of her life very well, being a baby, she just assumed – she been hated by nearly everyone.

The orphanage wasn't even safe on her birthday, before they'd kicked her out when she was nearly four.

After the first two years alone she'd realized that the tenth of October was not a day of celebration for her, actually for some reason she was always moody and felt as if the festival was some sort of insult to her.

Then there was the mobs, drunks, stoning, etc.. if she was even seen outside that day.

The Anbu, well they were there to keep watch on her, but not many of them were especially fond of her. Inu, the most common Anbu she could recall guarding her, was the kindest and the quickest to act if she was attacked.

Followed by Neko, and a few others she didn't seen often, but most others acted when it looked as if the situation could lead to her death.

She'd dubbed her birthday as the day of the demon hunts, her being the demon and the villagers, sometimes even shinobi themselves, being the hunters. She'd learned to avoid this, and she was pretty good at stealth, despite wearing orange.

Not many realized that besides liking orange, she wore it because it was cheap and easy to train ones stealth with. If she could avoid and loose Anbu while wearing a semi-bright orange then she had to have some skill in the area.

Today she was taking sanctuary in the Uchiha compound, at the training ground which was little into a wooded forest area close to Koji's residence. Only Uchiha's could find it, and would use it. And there were only a handful of those, including Koji, Shisui, Itachi and Sasuke.

"Happy birthday, Naru."

Naruto gasped softly, her mouth forming a 'o' in her surprise as she looked down sharply from her place in a large tree that stood in the training area. It was a place she liked, it help her think and from her position she could see the clear sky, stars and the full moon.

It always seemed to calm her down, the moon. In any phase, though she preferred the light of the full moon.

"I don't know what exactly is supposed to be happy about it," she muttered as she stared down at Koji.

He stood there, smiling almost sadly. Beside him was Kasumi, though she wore a very pretty white, blue and yellow kimono and slipper like shoes on her feet. Her hair was still as it always was, a straight, choppy-spiky, neatness that ended just bellow her shoulders.

"Koji, Kasumi... what is this? I didn't even know you knew it was my birthday," she began, and she looked behind them she saw more figures approaching.

Holding a platter with a medium size round cake was Itachi, a small sort of smile on his face and much lighter than usual eyes – not as guarded in other words. The cake held six candles which flickered in the night.

Beside him was Shisui and even Sasuke – though he didn't exactly look happy about it.

"Mikoto-sensei told us," Kasumi said, smiling.

Pulling her hands from behind her back she held a white and red mask, which looked like a fox, but it didn't look like the ones from the festival. It looked neater, and didn't have x's for eyes.

Instead it was similar to an Anbu's mask but also very different, with a Uzumaki swirl over the the left eye and side of the mask.

When she'd first seen it she though for some reason that the girl was mocking her her but she realized the differences she realized this was supposed to be a gift.

Her bottom lip quivered slightly, and she jumped down from the branch she'd lounged on. She didn't know how to react, besides Jiji no one had ever given her a gift.

"She also made this," Itachi said. "I hope you enjoy chocolate."

"Hn," Sasuke grumbled, looking at the ground, his arms crossed.

Shisui slapped the younger boy over the back of the head, which Sasuke went about rubbing as if to rid himself of the phantom pain.

Naruto looked at them all with large, wide eyes.

"I... I don't – no one's ever done this for me before," she admitted, her head lowered to the ground.

Itachi and Shisui sighed, both having realized their young friend had probably never truly celebrated her birthday before. She probably connected the day to pain. Considering all the crazy individuals out demon hunting – a disgrace to Konoha in their opinion.

Koji and Kasumi also knew their friend and teammate didn't have what some would call a good life. She was an orphan, the last of her clan apparently, and lived in a lonely apartment.

As far as she knew the people at Ichiraku's and the Hokage were her only escapes from the cold glares – which they had noticed, after three months of D-Ranks they'd be blind not to.

Sasuke on the other hand was shocked. He didn't know much about the girl, he just knew she was smart enough to have already become a ninja, something he'd striven to become.

He knew Itachi was fond of the girl, thinking of her as a little sister, he'd heard him talking to their mother about her. He also knew his mother was Naruto's jōnin sensei, another thing which irked him.

He was used to having his mother around all the time and suddenly she isn't there for hours on end and he is stuck making lunch for himself some days and not having all her attention. Call him a bit selfish or spoiled if you like, but he felt like the girl was trying to steal his family.

His father was the only one who wasn't overly fond when it came to the blonde, but even he didn't seem to care too much, he even went so far as to allow her access to the district without being a Uchiha herself.

It wasn't like others couldn't come here that weren't of the clan, but none could get around and stay for so long like she did. She'd even stayed at Koji's and Shisui's when they'd train to exhaustion, that was unheard of.

He hadn't realized just how bad she had it though. Of every bad point in his life, his birthday was always celebrated happily, ever since he'd been born. But he realized now Naruto had never once had that.

She'd been born exactly six years ago on the night of the Kyuubi attack. The same night that her parents had died, her father fighting the Kyuubi and her mother probably in childbirth, if not then he supposed in the attack.

She'd never had one birthday.

"Well, Dobe, you want cake now or what?" he asked, flashing a small smirk-smile when her head lifted and her blue eyes met his black ones.

She blinked and smiled.

"Thank you, all."

Soon they all sat on the ground, after Kasumi had spread out a blanket on ground. Kasumi had given her the mask and Naruto had accepted it happily, having never received a gift like it before.

As the night continued Naruto would say in the future this was the happiest she'd ever felt.

It would become her most precious memory.

* * *

Late November, it would be the month Naruto remembered her very first C-Rank mission.

It would also be the month she realized just what being a ninja meant. Sure, she wasn't naive, she knew that killing and being killed – and if captured even worse for a kunoichi – were possibilities. She also knew that even on C-Rank missions things could go wrong. She just never dreamed this simple escort mission could turn into a terrible battle between a high rank missing-nin and her team on their way to Tea Country.

"I guess the tales of the legendary Uchiha clan aren't as exaggerated as I once thought," a rough voice said from his position in front of Mikoto-sensei.

Naruto, Koji, Kasumi and Mizumaru were to guard Ran, the lady merchant they were escorting. The man wasn't after Ran though, actually it seemed more of a wrong place at the wrong time situation. The missing-nin from Iwa was simply passing through looking for supplies to steal from the first merchant passing by.

At least that was how it seemed, until he caught sight of Naruto.

_''N-no... it can't be?'' _she remembered how the mans eyes took on a glint that made her shiver, and his mouth twisted into a grin equally as vile. _''It is! The Yondaime's legacy!'' _

That had shocked her so badly she'd faltered and taken a hit to the chest which sent her crashing into a tree with enough force she felt her ribs crack before her head shot back and slammed into the bark.

She wasn't sure what the earth jutsu used was, but it shot mud, and that mud was far from soft.

His words though, they had given her plenty to think about. The Yondaime's legacy... but how could she be his legacy?

Mikoto-sensei had engaged the Iwa-nin in battle by the time she been helped up by her teammates.

They had watched with some fear and surprise – having never seen Mikoto go all out before in a fight – as Mikoto took the brunt of the attack. The small cuts and blemishes across her skin, dirt and tare marks in her clothes proved this.

Her eyes were determined and for the first time since they'd been training under the woman, they could see the red eyes of the Sharingan.

"Rumors are nothing more than rumors to me," Mikoto-sensei snapped and the fight began once again.

The strikes were sometimes so fast and precise the three genin had trouble seeing it. Mikoto-sensei was a fierce fighter, taijutsu and ninjutsu being her specialties. She also seemed to be a master of using a Shuriken, possibly others blades as well.

"Doton: Doryū Taiga (Earth Release: Earth Flow River)!" _Haruki_ (the Iwa missing-nin) called and Mikoto slipped slightly as she jumped to avoid the full force of the slippery mud river.

"Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!" she exclaimed, shooting the fiery jutsu as she landed back on the ground, having gone through hand seals while in the air.

The fire engulfed the missing-nin, incinerating him but Mikoto could tell something was not right. The way it disintegrated, that wasn't of the norm for that jutsu, or many fire jutsu she knew of.

"What..." Her eyes widened. "An Earth clone! But that means..."

_'Naruto and the others!'_ she thought in worry and spun around to see the real Haruki jump from underground and attack her genin.

"Iwa will have your blood as vengeance, Namikaze spawn!" Haruki nearly cackled as he shot out with a kunai towards Naruto who wasn't quite fast enough to block the kunai with her own.

"Naru!" Mikoto-sensei yelled, shooting forward as fast as she could but even she knew she'd be too late.

She was relieved to see Mizumaru having shot forward as well to protect what he knew was his partners teammate and friend, but she was more shocked to see Koji's face blank of all emotion, his eyes now red as he pushed between the missing-nin and Naruto.

Haruki's blade hit flesh just as Mizumaru sank his fangs into the missing-nin's arm. Kasumi gasped, burgundy eyes wide as her two teammates fell to the ground, Koji having intercepted the blow meant for the blonde, and now had the kunai buried in his right shoulder blade area.

"Koji," Naruto breathed as her back hit the ground, and she saw the blood from his shoulder, the kunai still in the wound. "Why..."

Koji look down at her and smiled.

"Cause, you're my best friend," he said rolled off so he sat beside her.

"Damn dog!" Haruki growled and shook his arm, trying to dislodge the ninkin.

"Hey!" Kasumi yelled, upset at the fact the missing-nin had hurt her friends and was shaking her dog.

Mikoto smiled slightly as the girl jumped back and threw a kunai, which hit the Iwa-nin in the left arm.

"Why you little brats! I'll kill you all – ack!" Blood came from the ninja's mouth as he was yelling, and Mizumaru finally let go of his arm as the man fell to his knees.

Mikoto had reached the spot behind the ninja, who was too distracted to realize. Mikoto now had a katana in her hands, held sort of at an angle, probably from her twisting it once she'd drove it into the man back and out the left side of his chest, where his heart would be.

"Forget someone, Haruki-san?" she asked, her voice much to polite for the situation.

"Argh.." was the only reply as she pulled her blade from his back and the ninja fell face first onto the ground, dead.

"Mikoto-sensei," Kasumi said, surprised at the woman's sudden appearance and katana.

None had known she had any skill in longer blades, and Naruto who had been watching in shock realized the woman must have had it stored in a storage scroll on her person.

Mikoto smiled at her genin.

"It's fine now," she said and then Kasumi gasped and Mikoto turned as she recalled the injury her male genin had suffered protecting her blonde student.

"Koji!" Kasumi exclaimed and rushed forward, along with Mizumaru who barked once as if to ask if he was alright, and Mikoto-sensei.

Ran stayed back with the caravan, concerned but also frightened.

Naruto was sitting up on her knees now, slightly behind Koji as she ripped his high collared shirt in order to see the wound better.

"I'm fine," Koji said, wincing when Naruto placed her hand on the handle of the kunai.

"Kasumi, get your medical kit ready," Mikoto-sensei told her.

Kasumi blinked but nodded, removing the much larger tan-yellowish pouch from her others, which sort of sat around her waist above her butt.

Placing it on the ground opened it, removing disinfectant and bandages. It was a basic kit, seeing as she had just recently looked into the medical arts and didn't know any medical jutsu's yet.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered seconds before she yanked hard, pulling the kunai from his shoulder blade area.

Koji bit his tongue to stop from screaming, and was thankful he had a pretty high pain tolerance.

"You three did good, given the situation. You stayed alive against a jōnin, and worked together," Mikoto-sensei told them, smiling slightly.

Naruto couldn't help but feel guilty though as she helped Kasumi bandage Koji's wound. She'd needed saving, she'd frozen and let all her training go to waste in a matter of seconds.

What if it happened again? Looking at her teammates her blue eyes narrowed, and she shook her head, she wouldn't allow it to happen again.

She couldn't afford to be weak.

As she came back from her thoughts she heard Mikoto-sensei congratulating Koji on unlocking his Sharingan, which seemed to make Koji pretty happy.

She didn't blame him, she knew some Uchiha didn't awaken the bloodline, usually those from the branch family if what she'd heard during her time as Koji's friend was anything to go by.

As they got their bearings together and Mikoto-sensei having stored the missing-nin's body in a scroll – she explained that missing-nin were either taken alive or dead.

That if dead they were either burned where they were killed, leaving nothing to identify a body was ever there, or the body was taken back for the bounty.

Usually just the head but sometimes the the bounty was more with the body. This was sort of the same for those in the bingo book, which she explained wasn't simply a book of missing-nin but ninja other countries also saw as targets, enemies.

Like how some of the most famous had been in the bingo book, but not missing-nins themselves. The three genin knew a lot of this information but a refresher on the subject wasn't exactly frowned upon.

It was when she mentioned the Yondaime's bingo book entry that she recalled how the Iwa-nin had singled her out.

"Mikoto-sensei," Naruto began, "why did that ninja seem to know me?"

Mikoto sighed at the question, wondering when her student would get to asking that. The Iwa ninja had taken a good look at the blonde and realized soon after who she was.

Mikoto had hoped that if something like this ever happened her similarities to Kushina would stop them from realizing.

But she should have known, the girl was also her father's daughter. There was no mistaking that shade of blonde hair, even with the red highlights running through it, making it slightly different from Minato's.

And those cerulean eyes were the mirror image of Minato's own, even if the shape was more like Kushina's.

"But... he called you the Yondaime's legacy..." Kasumi muttered, looking up in thought at the sky. "...And Namikaze spawn... but you're a Uzumaki."

Koji sighed, shaking his head.

"You really haven't realized yet Naru-chan?" Koji asked, rather surprised she really didn't know. "I mean, it's pretty obvious. There is even a picture of him in Hokage robes in the history books and we went over him in the Academy along with the Kyuubi attack."

Kasumi blinked and after a second she gasped, looking over at Naruto in shock.

'Namikaze... Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage.' She thought in surprise. 'Naru is the Yondaime's daughter!'

Mikoto sighed, knowing both her older two genin had gotten it, though she wasn't surprised Koji had. Like Shisui he was rather intelligent, almost considered a prodigy himself.

He probably could have been if he weren't so... lazy (something she found amusing since there had never been a lazy Uchiha as far as she knew).

Naruto looked at them slightly confused and replayed everything the missing-nin had said durring the battle and what Koji said about the Yondaime.

"I think I was asleep during some of that," Naruto admitted with a blush.

Kasumi and Koji sweat-dropped.

"Are you sure your a prodigy, Naruto?" Kasumi asked dryly and Naruto sighed.

"Give me a minute..." she muttered, and she tried to recall the picture of the Yondaime Koji had been talking about.

Closing her eyes she recalled the Yondaime's first name from class, Minako... or Minato that was it.

_''Yondaime's legacy!''_

_A picture of a blonde man, sharp features, tall, white ____haori__coat with flames at the bottom, jōnin clothing and forehead protector. Hair so familiar, the hat of the Hokage (though it seemed he'd vetoed the traditional robes in the picture) and sharp cerulean blue... _

Naruto's eyes snapped open, her breath left her lungs and she stopped short.

"_Namikaze spawn!"_

"The Yondaime... his name was Namikaze..." she trailed off and her teammates who had stopped some inches in front of her smiled almost sadly.

"Minato," Mikoto finished, nodding. "Namikaze Minato, he was my genin teammate..."

Naruto looked down sadly.

"He was my father... wasn't he?" she asked but she already knew.

Mikoto was relieved. She couldn't tell her in words, seeing as she would need the Sandaime's permission but if Naruto figured it out herself... well she wasn't bound not to confirm.

"He was."


	7. Second Complication, Resentment

**So, here is the next chapter. It's not very long, but the chapter focuses mainly on Naru's reaction. Hopefully I did it justice. The next chapter will be a bit of a time skip I think. **

**I will be going into the end of the first arc, the Chunin Exams for Team Mikoto (which I will now call them so we don't confuse this team seven for the one we all know and love from canon). **

**It will probably take me a while, and be in two parts, since I am a bit unsure how to write the chunin Exams for them as of yet. **

**I'm not sure if I want to go completely original with task set up or use some from the chunin exams from canon or what. I'm not even sure where to have them hosted yet, I was thinking either Suna or Kumo... it probably wouldn't be safe for her to go to Iwa. **

**Suggestions would be appreciated, though I will have the next chapter up by next weekend by the latest, hopefully. **

**Now, enjoy. **

* * *

**Existence Arc. **

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 6: Second Complication, Resentment. **

There had once been a time when she hadn't known why everyone hated her.

A time when she could take it, push the growing hate (as strong as that word was) down into a place where she could feel it slowly growing to encompass the edges of her soul.

Then the feeling had been lessened a little over a year before when she'd started the academy, and met her first friend - Koji. With Koji came acquaintances that weren't exactly friends but didn't glare at her either.

They seemed more... weary and uncaring for lack of better terms. Later Koji was the catalyst for her other two friends, Shisui and Itachi, and even Sasuke to some extent.

Finally, when they'd graduated she found a place on a team, with Koji and Kasumi. Even if Kasumi wasn't yet a close friend, though after their last mission she was definitely becoming such, she'd become one of those select few who helped her fight the hatred threatening her sanity.

She shuddered to know what could have been if she'd never entered the academy, or even worse. The Hokage had never taken the time to care about her.

Now she knew exactly why she was hated by the village she was sworn to protect.

She was the container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The demon that had rampaged the village six years before on October 10th, her birthday.

She was a Jinchuuriki. A human sacrifice, and to make it worse... it had been her father to bring this fate upon her.

She'd always looked up to the Yondaime as her hero, her idol. It was partially stories she heard from Sarutobi about the Yondaime that made her final decision to enter the Academy early so easy.

She had never paid all that much attention to much in the Academy about him seeing as she knew pretty much all there was from Jiji, hence her having slept through any mention of his last name.

Naruto sniffed sadly as she wiped her nose on the back of her baggy orange and blue jacket, a jacket she hadn't worn commonly, preferring not to have a neon-orange sign that read kill-me-now painted on her.

With the Uzumaki swirl on the back it looked even more like a bulls-eye, something she'd realized upon entering the Academy as well.

Maybe she wore it now, not because of the cold night breeze as she sat on the roof of her apartment building, but from the harsh realization laid upon her a week before.

She hadn't known about the Kyuubi then, her first reaction to knowing, finally, who her father was hadn't been anger or resentment.

It had been joy, she finally knew who he was, she had a face for a name and everything left for her. The Namikaze style, the way it seemed she was missing things that should have been obvious.

_'Some prodigy I am,' _she thought bitterly._ 'I couldn't even realize who my parents were, and I had last names and everything.' _

Though on another hand the villagers had to be just as stupid, there was only one Uzumaki around to have had her and it wasn't a secret she was married to the Yondaime. Not to mention her appearance.

Oh, she knew about everything now (or at least she assumed it was everything).

The day they returned to the village and Hokage-jiji was told about the mission, he had dismissed everyone but her. He then proceeded to tell her the biggest secret kept form her.

He had said with the revelation of who her father was it was best to tell her now, less someone else dropped it on her in the future.

He'd gently told her the true story of the Kyuubi's defeat and it had hit her like a brick against glass. She was sure she heard her heart shatter once it kicked in who exactly had been responsible for turning her into a human sacrifice.

Her tears came after the anger, the denial and the yelling.

_'My mother... did she agree to this?' she'd asked. _

_Sarutobi sighed. _

_'I do not know exactly what went on with this decision Naru-chan, or how Kushina felt about it. I know Minato seemed to believe there was no choice, at the time I couldn't argue with his logic. He was a good man, and he did love you, dearly. He couldn't ask anyone else to sacrifice what he wasn't willing too.' _

His words were meant to placate her, but they only made her angrier for a time as tears fell and then she was just numb. She didn't know what to feel.

That day he had given her a few scrolls, both from her parents. One seemed to be her birth records and a copy of their will. It of course listed her as the recipient of everything they owned in life, and as family heir to the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans.

_**Naru-chan,**_

_**If you are reading this than things have gone wrong. Either the war has taken us from you or something else unforeseen. Know, that your father and I love you very much, the day I found out about you was the happiest in my life. **_

_**I swore then I would protect you, and even with my death I will continue to protect you as much as I can. **_

_**As I write this letter I am only about eight months along, and you should be born within the next few weeks, sometime in mid October. **_

_**We can't be sure of your gender, mostly because of my prior condition blocking the machine but we've decided to name you Naruto either way. **_

_**You're father was unsure if it was alright when he suggested it, seeing as Naruto is primarily used for boys, but I don't see why it would matter. Naruto can be shortened to Naru if you prefer later in life and no one said it couldn't be used for a girl as well. **_

_**I hope life treats you well, and that you at least have your father there with you if I am not. Grow up happy, Naruto, grow to be a strong ninja. **_

_**Love, **_

_**Kaasan (Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina). **_

Naruto had read her mothers letter first, not believing she could take reading her father's at the time. In the end she had no choice but to see what her father had to say. This was a day later, after she'd cooled off a little though. She'd sat upon the Hokage monument, on the Yondaime's head to read it.

_**Naruto-chan,**_

_**I don't really know how to start this letter, part of me is unsure I have a right to leave anything for you after what I'm about to do. But here it goes. **_

_**If you're reading this then I'm not going to make it, I'm dead. If that's the case then I had no choice but go through with the sealing after all. That also means you know. I told the Sandaime not to give this to you before you knew of me or Kyuubi, or both. Hopefully not before you made chunin so you could better protect yourself.  
**_

_**I want to apologize first. Know, please, that if there had been more time, more warning, if I could have thought of another way... I would have never made you the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. **_

_**But there is no time, and there was no other way. I couldn't take the Kyuubi with me, and you can not kill a Biju, they are truly immortal. **_

_**You're mother, my wife, she was the Jinchuuriki before you. It's always been Uzumaki's who hold the demon, the only reason known to either Mito or Kushina was there special chakra. **_

_**I've always believed it to be more then that, but with Uzushiogakure's destruction we may never truly know. **_

_**I know Kushina would wish to seal the Kyuubi back into herself, taking it with her into death. But I couldn't let her, I want her to live. To have the chance to raise you, and I hope she has gotten to do that. If not then I am truly sorry, my Musume. **_

_**I have faith that you will be seen as a hero though, should your status be known as I fear it will. Though I can only hope, in the end I guess it's all blind faith from here. **_

_**I know, in the end, you will be a hero, and a strong Kunoichi like your mother was.**_

_**Stay strong, Naruto. **_

_**Love,**_

_**Tousan (Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage). **_

She hadn't truly known what to think or feel after reading it. She went through so many different emotions. In the end she just sat there and cried for the first time in a long time, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Ryo for your problems?" a familiar voice said from behind her.

Turning she was only a little surprised to find Itachi, and she knew it was Itachi from his voice and the way he moved. The Anbu mask and uniform did little to confuse her. Not to mention she was pretty sure Itachi's identity wasn't the secret most other Anbu's were.

The fact he wore a Weasel mask was a dead give away to her as well.

"Weasel-kun," she greeted, and she was sure if not for the mask she'd have seen him twitch slightly in either amusement or annoyance.

The nickname had actually been something she'd given him the first time he'd been assigned to guard her, not long after she'd met him. He'd been surprised she'd known who he was at first and then she'd smirked and begun calling him Weasel-kun.

"Hn, I had thought you would be asleep by now. Don't you have another survival exorcise tomorrow?" Itachi asked, coming to sit beside her – though not very closely seeing as he was still on duty – with one knee brought up and his left arm resting on it.

For a split second she wondered how he could see clearly out of the mask, or be comfortable wearing it. For that matter, how did it stay on? There was no string.

"It's held on by chakra, like the tree walking and water walking exorcises," he explained, as if reading her mind.

"How did you..." she trailed off.

"It's something everyone seems to ask," Itachi said. "Even I nearly asked when I joined Anbu. It's kind of obvious once you think about it though."

Naruto nodded.

"I was thinking about what Hokage-jiji told me after the mission to Tea Country," she said and Itachi nodded.

"Hn, Kaasan said something about that," he said. "I take it you were told about Kyuubi then?"

"You know?"

He nodded, looking over at her but of course all she could see were his black eyes, though not as clearly with his mask on.

"I was a child when that happened, six I think. Sasuke had just been born a month or so before," he explained. "I knew your mother, she was my moms friend, and my mom was best friends with your father. Though at times you'd think it was the other way around, my mom and yours that is."

"My mom, did she meet Mikoto-sensei through my father then?"

"From what I know," Itachi began, tilting his head up to stare at the sky, "your mother was on a team with two other females. Rarely done, but one of them was my mother's younger sister, Miyana."

"You have an aunt..."

"Had," Itachi corrected, interrupting her mid sentence. "She died in the Third Shinobi war, the year I was born. It was through her Kushina-san met my mother originally, then later through your father they became closer friends."

Naruto sighed, and biting her lip she asked, "Do you think I should hate my father... for choosing to seal the Kyuubi inside me?"

Itachi looked her and moved his mask to the side of his head where it stuck. She could see his face clearly, though slightly shadowed by the night shadows.

"I don't think what I think matters, Naru-chan," he began, smiling faintly. "I didn't see your father often, my father wasn't his biggest fan. But from what I recall he was kind, loyal and fierce. A strong shinobi and powerful Hokage. I don't know exactly why he chose to seal the Kyuubi inside you, there had to be other options, but I doubt he did it to hurt you on purpose."

He took a breath, and exhaled calmly.

"In the end, I think it would be foolish for you not to have resentful feelings towards him. It was his decision to make you the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki that caused a lot of your pain. It cost you a childhood, and I'm sure has scarred you mentally and emotionally in some ways. But as I said, I doubt he did it for power or to hurt you."

Naruto didn't know exactly what to say to his words, but she was moved by them. But she was also conflicted. A part of her screamed that she should hate the man for ruining her life, but the other, the larger part wanted her to take it in stride, and one day she could forgive him. But she would never forget, never.

"I... Thank you Weasel-Niisan," she muttered and flushed at the new tittle she'd given him.

Looking over she saw the first true smile, a smile that actually bordered on a grin. It was almost so unlike him she nearly fell sideways off the roof.

Itachi's hand shot out and steadied her with a chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad I could be of help, Imouto," he said, and she grinned back for a moment.

"I'm not going to say it wont hurt for a while," Naruto began as she looked back to the moon which shone bright in the night sky. "But I don't hate him, I don't think I could. I understand, as a shinobi and Hokage he had to do something. One day I'll be able to say I forgive him, but I wont ever forget."

Itachi replaced his mask back over his face and smiled under it.

"That's wise," he said, nodding. "A Shinobi can forgive when the situation calls for it, Naru-chan, but we never forget."

Naruto nodded, and gazing above her she smiled softly.

_'One day, Tousan, I'll say I forgive you... I just can't right now. Please understand that.' _she thought, wondering if wherever her parents were in the afterlife they could hear her.


	8. Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams I

**AN: So, here is the next chapter. **

**I've decided to split the chunin exams into three or four parts, and it be the beginning of the chunin arc of the story. In this chapter we get to see what nearly three years can do for three genins, especially Naruto herself who has a slight advantage over her teammates. **

**I want to thank everyone for their reviews so far, and I hope to hear more from you all on what you think. **

**So, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, though nothing much happens, not until they arrive in Suna anyways.**

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 7: Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams Part I. **

**2 ½ YEARS LATER: **

Sarutobi had seen everything from peaceful times, to chaotic times, to war time... but the last few years since the Kyuubi attack he'd seen a mix peace and chaos that usually centered around one certain blonde – Uzumaki Naruto.

He'd feared that allowing her to join the academy at four was a bad idea. No sane person would allow it, it was probably one of the youngest admitted children since the birth of Konoha, yet he'd seen the good it had done her.

Naruto was happier, she had social skills, though not many friends considering most in the village that were not shinobi still couldn't see beyond the nine-tailed bijū king.

Most of the shinobi on the other hand had come around in four and half years – that was counting the time she'd spent in the Academy.

Sometimes it was hard for him to believe that little girl, obsessed with proving herself and her existence to those her hated her (and for a while there was that stubborn belief in a ramen god. She still obsessed and loved ramen even if she'd gotten passed that other phase of worship), had grown up.

Come soon she'd have officially been a genin for three years, though she and her team usually didn't count the year until her birthday.

Being the youngest in the group, and it was true in more than one way as her birthday was in October and Koji and Kasumi's were in May and June.

Two years ago he'd been worried, worried that revelation of her parents, especially her father and the Kyuubi would break the fragile girl and her heart. He'd been worried it had for a solid month but soon she'd snapped back to her usual self, if not a tad more jaded.

He sighed in regret for that lost of innocence.

Now though things were chaotic for a different reason. The Chūnin Exams were approaching fast, only a month away. Before him were the jōnin sensei's, though was especially curious about Uchiha Mikoto's decision concerning team seven.

From what he'd heard and seen they were doing very well.

Over a hundred D-Rank missions in two and half years, and nearly a hundred C-Rank missions. It may seem a lot at first glance, but having two years to accomplish this made it easier. They'd even done quite well for a genin team of only two and half years.

He was sure Mikoto had noticed as well, and he knew she had wanted to enter them last year but with the exam taking place in Iwa... well she'd felt it to much of a risk for the team. Especially with Minato's daughter on the team.

If that missing-nin was anything to go by then there were quite a few who remembered Minato and were still bitter.

"So," he began, his pipe never leaving his mouth. "I am sure you all know what this is about. It's that time of year once again. Would those who wish to enter their team step forward now."

He was not that surprised when only three teams of five present stepped forward. Two were genin teams from over two years ago, including Mikoto, and the other was one from this last years graduation.

He was a bit concerned for the last, Team Eleven had only been active for around seven or eight months now. But they did have the criteria to enter so he allowed the newer jōnin sensei to nominate his team.

Mikoto was the last to step forward and speak.

"Hokage-sama, under the name of Uchiha Mikoto I nominate team seven for the exams."

It was short, and to the point. He'd expect nothing less from a Uchiha. Especially when it came to business.

"I see, then here are the forms. You all know what to do from here," Hiruzen said, "You're all dismissed, except you Mikoto, I wish to have your team review a bit early this year."

Mikoto stopped her retreat and nodded, coming to stand in front of the Hokage, hand behind her back, and back straight. Currently she looked hardly anything like the laid back, gentle housewife she was off duty.

"I take it things have gone well?" he asked and Mikoto relaxed a little, and nodded.

"They've come a long way since I've been their sensei," she said, smiling slightly. "I think they were ready for this exam last year, but we both know sending our ninja to Iwa isn't exactly safe, even after so many years. And Naru...well it's even less safe for her then others."

Hiruzen nodded, completely in agreement with the woman.

"And your assessment of team seven?" he asked.

"Uchiha Koji, age eleven. He's come into his Sharingan well, though he doesn't use it often. He is either too lazy to use it for every little thing or like me he believes it to be a tool to use in times of need and not just to use it. I am happy to see he doesn't seem to rely on it like most Uchiha tend to do."

Hiruzen hmm'd at the news but was also relieved to hear this. He heard quite a bit about the boy seeing how close he and Naruto were. At one time he knew the girl had a small crush on the boy, and he thought the boy might have on her as well.

But recently he'd noticed while Naruto seemed to still have a deep emotion for the Uchiha boy it wasn't that of romantic intent. Maybe it could one day become so, given proper situation but he doubted it. Especially seeing as he'd noticed how close the other teammate, Inuzuka Kasumi was becoming to Koji.

Mikoto continued after a moment.

"His ability with it, when he does use it is quite advanced, though it has not reached full maturity yet. Still only two tomoes, I expect the third to show up any day now. He is also well on his way to mastering the family taijutsu, partially due to how often he helps Naruto with her own skills, and Kasumi as well. I think in years to come he could be considered a Taijutsu specialist, if not in ninjutsu as well. He is definitely a front line fighter in times of war or on a mission."

"I see," the Sandaime said, and waved for her to continue her evaluation of team seven.

"Inuzuka Kasumi, age ten (nearly eleven). She has come a long way since the team started. In the beginning I feared she and Naruto would clash horribly, they didn't seem to like each other. But slowly I saw them coming together as friends. By the time their first C-Rank mission ended I saw a bond form. Naruto and Koji have helped greatly in improving her impulse to charge in without thinking." Mikoto stopped and took a breath.

"She actually thinks thing through now before being brash, and her teamwork is exceptional. With her ninkin, Mizumaru, and with her teammates. At first it was mostly with Mizumaru, but slowly over the last two years I've worked with her on fighting with and without her ninkin. She has also been studying medical ninjutsu, which she seems to have an affinity for. I'd say she could be great in many certain areas. But tracking and as a medic nin is where she prospers."

Hiruzen smiled, he wasn't too surprised.

He recalled that Kasumi's father was an Inuzuka but her mother was the older sister of Nohara Rin, one of the students of Minato Namikaze, and teammate of Hatake Kakashi.

Things had truly ended terrible for that team seven, he just hopped the cycle wouldn't repeat.

The point was, like Rin, Kasumi seemed to be flourishing under instruction as a field medic – as he recalled Tsunade had called her idea of having medic nins on each team, before the council decided they didn't like the idea. It hadn't stopped Hiruzen from trying to place someone with promise as a medic nin on each team expected to pass.

"And Naruto?" he asked, leaning forward some in curiosity to what she'd say.

Mikoto smiled once more at mention of her team.

"Uzumaki Naruto, age eight ( nearly nine). Of both my other two students, I think Naruto has improved the most. She is truly deserving of the title, prodigy. She has begun to use the Kage Bunshin, which she learned last year as you know, but of course she knew the jutsu and seal for it before she ever attempted it. She shows intelligence, and some strategic ability, but Koji is the strategist of the team."

"She seems to know how to use the Kage Bunshin in her training, as she seems to use them to help her chakra control, and taijutsu the most. She's come a long way with her family styles, and I can personally say having seen both Kushina and Minato fight, that she's near mastered both styles as much as she can without knowing her elemental affinity."

Mikoto recalled once both telling her what made their styles so deadly at full mastery was blending their affinities with it, especially Kushina's style since it was made around the idea of merging ones affinity – mostly lightning since it was the most often for an Uzumaki to have.

Kushina had a water affinity though, with a slightly lightning affinity. So while she'd changed the Raikou Kitsune style to incorporate this it was mostly the same. Minato had decided after mastering the Kazeken Doragon to blend his wind affinity with his taijutsu style similar to Kushina, even if it wasn't a step in the family taijutsu scroll.

"She's begun to create her own taijutsu style, a blend of both, which I think she'd subconsciously been doing for years now. The style once complete will be deadly, especially if she does find a way to make the style fluid with Kenjutsu, much like Kushina was able too. She's seems to determined to be able too, and as unpredictable as Naru is I don't doubt her," Mikoto said, smiling slightly.

Hiruzen smiled as well, nodding.

"Yes, she is every bit her parents daughter. I gave her her mother's katanas last year on her birthday as you know," he said and Mikoto nodded.

"Yes. As for other areas, she only knows a handful of ninjutsu, mostly her clones. She seems to have a knack with ninjutsu though, probably because of being an Uzumaki, and Namikaze – we both know Kushina and Minato were Ninjutsu and Fuuinjutsu specialist, though both were well versed in other areas. She is also adapt at seals, much like her parents. But given her heritage I am not surprised. Naruto is much like Koji, a front line fighter, and I believe she could even be a great leader given time."

"I think, though it is odd, that she could be a master in many areas. Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu... maybe even Fuuinjutsu one day. As for the ones she shows the most promise... I'd have to say Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu along with Taijutsu following close behind."

Mikoto shrugged and finished, "As I've said, she's a bit of a jack of all trades when it comes to those four areas, but she seriously lacks in genjutsu and while her chakra control has improved, she'll never be able to fully control it."

"A very powerful team," he said, smiling. "They remind me a little of my old team, but they seem to work together a little easier then the sannin ever did in the beginning."

"I have very little doubt they area ready for this, Hokage-sama," Mikoto said. "Even if they are not promoted, I have seen them enough to know they are low chūnin level, if not a high chūnin by this point."

"Good," Hiruzen said, nodding. "I wish your team the best of luck Mikoto, dismissed."

Mikoto nodded, bowed respectably, and left the Hokage's office.

She had no idea that this trip to Sunagakure for the chūnin exams would set into motion an event four years into the future. If it would lead to a happy ending for two certain Jinchuuriki... well that counted on the actions of Naruto herself, along with Sabaku Gaara.

**xXx**

"It's so-ooo hot, Sensei!" a almost agonized voice said, dragging the 'so' on profusely.

The voice belonged to a average sized girl, burgundy eyes and deep crimson hair which feel slightly past her shoulder, almost to her shoulder blades. She wore her normal clothes, though over the years they'd become a deeper crimson.

Similar to her hair. She also wore a large crimson scarf, which was half over her mouth and nose but still allowed her to breath, much like all the genin and sensei's journeying to Suna wore.

The desert winds whipped against them, blowing up the golden looking sand. It was of course the main reason for the scarf, and the sun beating down on them wasn't much better for those used to more clam climates of Fire Country.

Beside the crimson haired girl was another girl, shorter then her and younger looking. Her hair was long and nearly perfectly straight. It reached just past her waistline, and was a bright sunset blonde color, her bangs on the right side were pulled back by a black clip.

Her skin was lightly tanned, and she had intense cerulean eyes that looked older then her years. Her clothes were also changed from when she was younger.

She now wore a almost burnt orange kimono like blouse with black stitching along the hem. A black obi, with the Uzumaki spiral on the left side below the obi.

She wore a black skirt under the orange blouse, which was not much past her mid-thighs. Though not seen there was a even shorter pair of black shorts under the skirt, so she didn't go around flashing her panties as she fought. A few inches below the skirt was long black tights and black shinobi sandals on her feet.

She had two hip pouches to her left and two black shuriken holsters on her right upper and lower thigh area, placed against bandages which were wrapped underneath.

Once again it was a lot like her mothers outfit at thirteen, yet she had taken a few of the outfits (many shinobi had multiple copies of the same clothes, her mother was no exception) and died them the darker orange color which was still rather bright.

She had also used the little skills she had in sowing to hem them to her size.

She like the others had a scarf, but hers was a dark burnt orange, similar to her kimono-blouse. It kept most her facial features hidden from few, otherwise they everyone would have notice exotic looking whisker birthmarks on either cheek.

A boy with distinct features, very dark onyx hair and dark gray eyes which appeared black at times was beside her. Wearing a high colored dark blue shirt, black knee length shorts, bandages along his arm from hands to elbow, and around his ankles to his shins.

Black shinobi sandals were on his feet, and like both girls, a Konoha hitai-ate was proudly displayed around his forehead. He wore a black scarf to keep against the sand and wind.

"We'll be reaching Suna within a few hours now, Kasumi," an older woman who looked similar to the dark haired boy said. She had long black hair, and black eyes, and had a scarf much like the others but in a midnight blue color.

"It's not that bad, Kasumi," Naruto said, smiling slightly over at the crimson haired genin.

Truth be told, it was hot, Naruto knew this. But she wasn't as effected as the others seemed to be, she thought maybe it had something to do with the Kyuubi. Actually, she liked the area, even if it was very, very different from Konoha.

"You're joking," Kasumi deadpanned, and Mizumaru barked from in front of her, her tongue sort of lolling out of her mouth from the heat.

"Hn," Koji grunted, and that seemed all that he would say presently.

Odd, he was usually not so Uchiha-like. The heat must have been really been getting to him.

Mikoto chuckled at her three genin and shook her head.

"We'll be there soon, so don't get too worked up," she said. "Once we arrive and check in we'll head to the hotel to cool off. Once we're inside Suna it wont seem as hot as it does in the open desert."

"So... it'll be cool, Mikoto-sensei?" Kasumi asked, hopeful.

"No," Mikoto said, withholding a snort of amusement. "It'll still be hot, but it's not as hot. I've been to Suna a few times in the past, it takes some getting used to."

Kasumi sighed but nodded.

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to think. The month before she'd found out about the chūnin exams, and Mikoto having nominated them.

They were to meet at the gates on a certain date together, and she'd told them once they'd arrived that if one hadn't shown up then none could have gone. The first test so to say was if they all showed up.

They had.

Now here they were, only an hour or two from Suna.

As the blonde walked further along with her team, two other teams close by, she couldn't help but feel as if this trip was going to be something she recalled for many years to come.

She felt as if something or someone important was waiting in Suna, but the feeling was so foreign she couldn't truly tell what it meant.

She didn't notice one of the naturally redder strand of her hair floating up as the wind blew against them, and shinning a familiar red in the sunlight – it would be symbolic in the future, even if she didn't know it.

Much as her mothers own hair had helped tie her to a certain future Yondaime Hokage over ten years before Naruto's birth.


	9. Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams II

**AN: So, the next chapter. **

**Unfortunately, there wont be any action this chapter, but the exams officially start in the next chapter. So there will be some interesting happenings then. This chapter is mostly about their arrival and Naruto meeting Gaara. **

**As I've said before this is my first Naruto story, so hopefully I've done Gaara's character justice. I'm not sure what age he was when Yashamaru was killed so we'll say he was nine or ten at the time, so that hasn't happened yet. **

**Also, before long we'll be heading into Canon with the story. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 8: Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams Part II. **

The three teams of genin from Konoha arrived nearly three hours later, close behind a team that seemed to be from Takigakure, the Hidden Waterfall village.

"Welcome to Suna," one of the guards at the entrance to Sunagakure greeted after their papers were all given.

"Wow," Kasumi said in awe as she looked around at the sand like structures which made pretty much everything. "It's so different, yet..."

"Beautiful," Naruto supplied, looking just as awed as her friend.

She had never been out of the village before they began doing C-Ranks, unlike her teammates, and this was the farthest she'd ever gone out of Konoha.

She'd never been to such a diverse place before, and she really did find it beautiful. Maybe a bit sandy, but she didn't have much of a problem with sand.

"Hn," Koji agreed, nodding as he took in the sights as they walked through the village leisurely.

"Sensei," Kasumi began, looking over to their calm Sensei. "Is there no plant life in Suna?"

Mikoto frowned.

"Not exactly. There are desert plants, you are aware, and there aren't plants as we know in Suna or most of Wind Country."

"Most?" Koji inquired, looking up to his distant cousin with an raised eyebrow.

"You'll find out in time what I meant," Mikoto said, almost in a mischievous manner.

Koji looked about to say something with there was a loud rumble. Blinking owlishly the three older members of Team Mikoto turned to look at Naruto who had her face flushed nearly completely red, her eyes almost glaring at the sand on the ground she walked.

"Umm, I'm hungry," she muttered and her teammates and sensei sighed, sweat-dropping.

Mizumaru jumped from Kasumi's side to Naruto's and barked in agreement.

"Mizu-chan seems to be as well," Kasumi mused, smiling slightly. "So what should we.."

"Ramen!" Naruto yelped excitedly, and Koji's left eye twitched.

"You eat too much ramen, Naru," he said, shaking his head. "You're going to be very short if you don't eat other things as well."

Naruto huffed, crossing her arms.

"I eat other things," she protested.

Mikoto laughed.

"Well, unfortunately she wont find ramen in Suna. We'll stop and get some Sand Dango, it's a delicacy around here," Mikoto said.

Kasumi, and Koji sighed at the prospect of not choking down more ramen for what felt like the dozenth time in the past week.

Naruto just pouted slightly, but followed her Sensei with the rest of the team to the place that had this certain type of Dango.

As she walked passed people she couldn't help but be amazed by how no one seemed to look at her with those eyes.. the eyes she was so used too and hated with every fiber of her being.

She smiled, she was beginning to like Suna even more.

"Hmm... oh, sorry!" she gasped after bumping into someone who was around the same height as her, but almost looked a little frailer.

She turned her head to look back at the person she'd bumped into, a boy from the looks of it who had stumbled but not fallen and continued to walk.

As she gazed at him he turned as well, his eyes making her own widen at the sharp aquamarine color that pierced through her cerulean orbs.

They were so sad, so familiar, yet at the same time held shock, surprise and slight fear in their wide orbs.

She didn't get to see him long, but his eyes were burned into her mind as she had to turn to keep up with her team, and he was lost from her sight in the crowd.

**xXx**

The exam didn't start for three more days after they arrived, so the teams could arrive and settle into a routine of sorts.

Many teams explored, Naruto noticed this quickly and while she and her team did some exploring they also stayed in their hotel some and played and even trained in Naruto's case – her chakra control that was.

Kasumi always thought the blonde trained too much, that one day she'd hit a brick wall and it'd blow up on her and cause injury to herself. Or at least train herself into chakra exhaustion, which being a medic nin (though she was still in training, she knew quite a bit after nearly three years) she knew was dangerous and unhealthy.

Koji was so used to the pace of training Naruto set for herself he wasn't too concerned. Kasumi did notice he kept an eye on Naruto at nearly all times though, something which had always spawned jealousy in Kasumi.

She hated to admit it, but the lazy Uchiha had always intrigued her and she found herself hopelessly falling for him.

She knew Naruto had a sort of crush on him at one point, and might still have lingering feelings of more than friendship for him.

At times she thought Koji felt the same, yet at others there was only deep friendship and a sibling bond between them, or so it seemed.

Kasumi was really unsure how to categorize them, but she knew she couldn't stop her own feelings. Sometimes it seemed as if Koji returned those feelings, but at others... well the Uchiha boy was beginning to give her whiplash and it was getting annoying.

"I'm so bored," Naruto said, her head thrown back to look up at the ceiling as she threw her cards down with a growl of frustration. "I have no luck today... this is just... annoying."

Koji snickered as he drew the small pile of money towards him and smirked.

"We could have played strip poker," he said, and flinched when both his female teammates glowered at him with aura's of killer intent.

Naruto's hair beginning to stand up like nine-tails. Something he still didn't know how she did, or if it was just some sort of oddity she inherited somewhere. He couldn't decide who was scarier, Kasumi with her feral killing intent or Naruto with her similar yet suffocating one. Both were intense, that was for sure.

"Not on your life, perv," Kasumi said dryly, Naruto stood.

"I'm going to go out, maybe get something to eat," she said, "Give me some money, Ko-kun."

"Why? Use your own money..."

Naruto's eye twitched as she glared at her best friend.

"I would... but someone won all of it," she snapped. "Besides, I'm bringing back food for us all, so fork it over or be neutered. Your choice."

she said this all too sweetly.

Kasumi hid a snicker and Koji shivered as he threw some of the money at his friend who smiled and stuffed it into a frog wallet she seemed to love so much.

It was ironic because Naruto wasn't all that fond of the amphibians because of a prank he and Sasuke had pulled on her in revenge for putting pink hair dye into their shampoo (a miracle it was only them to be hit and not everyone in their house).

Thankfully it was not permanent, didn't make them any happier though. Uchiha's did not have pink (shudder) hair.

"You know... it's odd. How often does she loose when we play games?" Kasumi asked once their blonde friend left.

Koji snickered.

"Almost never, but she has her days," he said as he placed his remaining money away. "So... what do you think she'll bring back?'

Kasumi sighed.

"I don't care, as long as it's not ramen."

Mizumaru barked in complete agreement from the bed where he laid contently.

**xXx**

Naruto held the the bag of food in her hands as she took the long way around back to the Hotel.

She wasn't sure why, but she really enjoyed taking in the sights, even if they all seemed identical at first glance. Maybe it helped that no one knew who she was here, no one looked at her with those eyes that made her want to claw their eyes out – as morbid as that was.

"Run!"

Naruto stopped short as she was about to pass through a small playground area, and was nearly knocked down by running kids around her age, maybe a little older.

Looking around she saw the look of fear and desperation to get away, she'd seen that look before. It made her stomach drop, but this look couldn't be because of her.

"Hey, don't stand here and wait for the monster... he'll get you too!" a boy said as he passed by her, and Naruto was shocked by his words.

She ignored him and the others passing by and began walking closer, seeing a girl running towards her. Though she was not as fast as her friends, probably because of the sand snaking around her ankle.

Naruto blinked and followed to trail to a boy with wide eyes, sad eyes. Eyes she remembered from the mirror, yet his were this pale clear sea foam green color – or aquamarine. The perfect reflection of a pale mix of green and blue.

He had his hand held out, as if to stop the girl from running but she didn't think he was doing this on purpose. The sand that was.

"Hey," she began, and began to run to help the girl. But mostly she wanted to help the boy, the boy with the darkish auburn red hair which fell around his face in a shaggy like appearance.

Before she could get there sand began to shoot towards the girl now on the ground, but another body intercepted. A man, with shoulder length blonde-brown hair.

"Gaara," she heard the man mutter and the boy look shocked and then look down defeated.

The little girl suddenly stood and took off, running past Naruto without looking back.

Naruto noticed the ball which had rolled away from Gaara was not far from where she stood, about a foot behind the man who'd appeared, and walked forward.

She heard a gasp when she passed the man, but the boy didn't seem to notice anything.

Placing her bag of food down she picked up the ball and walked closer to the boy – she wondered if Gaara was his name or just something the man had said.

"Wait... " she heard the man call as she got closer.

She was a few feet away from the red haired boy when she smiled and tossed the ball lightly towards him.

"Huh," the boy muttered as he caught the ball.

Looking up he saw a girl in front of him, smiling lightly at him. It was nothing like he was used too, and his gut twisted oddly.

She had long sunny blonde hair which seemed to have reddish highlights that had to be natural. She was lightly tanned, and petite, maybe a few centimeters shorter then him.

Her eyes were the brightest blue he'd ever seen, and held something familiar behind them, but they showed no hate, disgust or fear for him.

The most odd feature, and most interesting to Gaara, was the three whisker marks on each cheek.

Naruto likewise was taking in the boys appearance. His eyes were more unique up close then she'd imagined. But they showed very little emotion that wasn't loneliness and a darkness.

They reminded her painfully of her own eyes before she'd made bonds with her friends.

His skin was rather pale, and he was almost delicate looking but definitely male. She now realized his eyes, something that made them so very unique, had these black rings around them, reminding her of a Tanuki. She couldn't help but think it cute.

"Would you like to play?" she asked, and the boys eyes widened.

"Play?" he echoed, blinking slowly. "You aren't afraid of me?"

Naruto smiled wider, and shook her head laughing.

"Why would I be afraid of you?" she asked. "I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, I'm here for the chūnin exams from Konoha."

Gaara wasn't sure how to reply. This was the first person besides Yashamaru who wasn't afraid, and yet he'd just hurt Yashamaru with his sand. She had to have seen it, so why was she asking him to play with her?

He was also surprised she was a ninja, but the hitai-ate proved she was. She didn't look any older than him, though.

"Whats your name? That man, he said Gaara, is that you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Gaara nodded, still holding the ball in his hands.

"I'm Sabaku Gaara," he said, and his lips twitched some as if to smile but he wasn't positive how too.

"Gaara," a voice said from behind, and both turned to find Yashamaru having approached.

His arms were lowered to his side, but both children could see the blood from where the sand had hit his forearm area. Gaara looked down regretfully and Naruto looked concerned.

She now saw there was a resemblance between this man, and Gaara. She wondered if he was an brother, father or uncle? Maybe a cousin if nothing else.

It was mostly in some facial features, the resemblance. His had much lighter hair, a blonde-brown and his eyes were much darker, an indigo color.

"Yashamaru," Gaara muttered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean too..."

"I know, Gaara," Yashamaru said, smiling softly.

Turning to the girl at his nephews side Yashamaru was struck by the bravery and kindness the girl had shown Gaara. Even foreigners, who would have witnessed Gaara like that, and he was sure she had, would have run terrified.

But she didn't, looking into her bright blue eyes he was struck by an eery similarity they held to Gaara's.

They looked much older than her years. She couldn't be older than Gaara, maybe even younger as Gaara was nine and she hardly looked the same age.

The fact she had a Konoha hitai-ate surprised him. He hadn't realized they graduated so young anymore since the Third Shinobi War.

"Hello, I'm Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle," he introduced himself. "You're here for the Chūnin Exams then?" he asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I'm Uzumaki Naruto," she replied. "Do you need any help, one of my teammates knows some Medical Ninjutsu, she can help you heal."

Yashamaru was again surprised by how much older she sounded as she talked.

"Thank you, but I must decline. It's not that bad a wound, I'll take care of it once home," he said, smiling.

Naruto nodded and looked over at Gaara.

"Can I play with Gaara for a little while? I mean, if it's not too late today."

Gaara looked hopeful, more hopeful then Yashamaru had ever seen his almost stoic nephew.

"I'm afraid it's getting late today, Naruto-san, " he began. "But tomorrow, if you wish to meet Gaara here that is fine."

Gaara looked at the blonde beside him and Naruto had to control the urge to hug the boy at how hopeful his pastel eyes looked.

She grinned, one of her rare true grins.

"Tomorrow, around noon if that alright Gaara. I'll meet you here and maybe after we can have lunch as well!" she told him, and walked back to her bag and picked it up.

Coming back towards Gaara and Yashamaru she saw Gaara smiling so softly you'd have to really be looking to notice it, and Yashamaru was smiling a bit as well.

Bowing lightly to Yashamaru, she waved at them as she began heading back to the hotel.

For some reason she couldn't help but think about the red haired, sea foam eyed boy.


	10. Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams III

**AN: So, the chunin exams begin. **

**I want to thank you all for the reviews, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. Also it has come to my attention I haven't mention what the title means. For those who have no figured it out themselves, the title means Daughter of The Whirlpool. **

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 9: Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams Part III. **

Naruto made good on her promise to Gaara, she met him the next day minutes before noon.

She wasn't all that surprised to find him in the same place, on the swing, and he had a teddy bear with him.

Now, someone else might think this laughable, a boy her age carrying around a teddy bear, but she didn't. She had a feeling that bear was the only company he really had besides Yashamaru.

It sort of reminded her of her fox, which she no longer carried around but still had in her room. That fox had been her only friend once upon a time, before she'd become a ninja.

Unfortunately, she only had one day to spend with him. The following day was the beginning of the Chūnin Exams, but she'd promised to make as much time as she could to see him.

It wasn't charity, or pity, it was understanding. Gaara was like her, and she knew from experience she would have given anything to have a friend.

She'd been lucky to find the ones she had now.

"I'm glad you three made it," Mikoto-sensei said as they entered the Suna Academy. "I was concerned you'd get lost."

"Nope," Kasumi said, smiling. "Naru-chan asked her new boy friend..."

her smile was teasing, and her eyes mischievous while Koji covered a laugh with a cough.

Naruto blushed deeply, and glared halfheartedly at her friends.

"He's just my friend," she said, looking back to Mikoto who seemed amused. "Gaara showed me where it was this morning."

She hadn't been sure she'd find him this morning, but thankfully he'd been there waiting for her. Well, maybe not waiting for her exactly but he'd been there, and seemed surprised to see her.

She'd gotten a quick brunch with him – the exams didn't start till around two, so she had a few hours – and asked him about where exactly the Academy was. He'd showed her after they'd eaten and then she'd taken him to meet her teammates.

It was brief but went better then she'd hoped.

What continued to annoy her to no end was the looks Gaara received. It had taken her only a few minutes to realize they were the same as the ones she reviewed back home. She didn't want to pry though, and so she never asked.

"I'm glad your getting along here," Mikoto said, and motioned for them to continue in. "Go on, and good luck."

Team seven nodded and with one quick glance at each other entered the room. The first thing Naruto noticed was the papers on each desk, and she saw the words written on the board up front – Written Exam.

_'Kami, I'm doomed!'_ she felt herself shrivel inside at the realization she had to take a exam.

For every bit of intelligence she had, and as great a ninja she was... written exams were never her strong point. She wasn't sure why but she just didn't do too well under the pressure of a written test.

"You'll do fine," she heard Kasumi say beside her.

"Hn, she's right," Koji added, nodding.

Looking at both her friends she smiled and nodded.

"Right, I'll pass this stupid test – Dattebane!"

**xXx**

Matsunaga Kaito had been roped into being a proctor for the second half of the Chūnin Exam this year. Usually he was more happy to be elsewhere.

On a mission or even watching as some of the genin teams hoping for promotion floundered around like fish out of water.

There were never many promotions when exams where held in Suna, mostly because of the drastically different climate to other countries.

Looking around at those that remand he shook his head, snorting.

"Fifty-seven, Yoshida?" he asked the proctor for the first exam, who shrugged.

"That's what I got from ninety hopeful," Yoshida said, and Kaito nodded and glared slightly at the group of genin.

"Alright, listen up. This next test will be outside Suna, so you have an hour to pack essential in one bag, no more no less and meet me at the gates."

With that the man shunshined away, shocking some who didn't recognize the technique and others because they didn't expect the proctor to simply leave.

Yoshida's eye twitched as the genin stayed seated for a minute or two... and he sighed.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, BRATS!" he yelled. "Go!"

It was instantaneously that the genin shot up and left, heading back to their hotels to pack a bag for the second part of the exam.

"So, what do you think?" Koji asked as they head back to their hotel.

Mizumaru barked three times and Kasumi nodded as if she understood the ninkin – which she did being an Inuzuka.

"Right you are Mizu-chan," she said. "We should separate what we pack concerning our strengths. I'll handle medical, and you and Naru-chan can handle the brute force and intelligence."

Koji nodded along with Naruto.

"That sounds good," Naruto said. "Since I can make storage scrolls I can carry more then you two. I figure we wont need to go all out though, and I'll be sure to bring a few blank scrolls in case we need them and tags as well."

With a plan in mind the three entered their hotel room to ready themselves.

**xXx**

The Proctor (Matsunaga Kaito) looked at them all as they stood at the gates, all with bags somewhere on their person. Beside the proctor was four others. Three had bags in their hand and the other was simply there.

"Alright, first things first, these are waivers. You all must sign them or back out now. Be warned, if you do back out your team is disqualified."

"What's the waivers for?" a genin from what looked like the Waterfall village asked.

Kaito smirked and snickered as he handed the waivers to the jōnin beside him to hand out.

"Your deaths," he said bluntly, causing many to gasp, shriek or back away shocked.

"What!?" nearly all the genin yelled, and Kaito snickered louder.

"Calm down brats," he said, shaking his heads. "This exam isn't child's play. Shinobi way of life is life or death most the time, there is no room for hesitance. Those waivers are basically forms saying if you die in this exam then Suna isn't responsible for it."

"So... you expect us to kill each other?" a genin from Suna asked.

"It's unavoidable. This next phase of the exam is a Battle Royal of sorts," he began. "You will be taken to a place not far from here, which borders one of the dividers between Wind Country and the next country over; known as Area 51. It's the only place that isn't completely desert land in Wind Country."

Kaito stopped there and looked at the genin before continuing.

"You will trade your waivers for a coin from one of these three jōnin," he said pointing out the three beside him with the bags. "Each coin is different, they have different symbols. Wind, Heaven or Earth. You must collect one of each and make it back to Suna in six days. If one of your team is dead upon arrival you are disqualified. If you do not have all three coins then you are disqualified. If you don't make it back in time the same applies."

"Can we make alliances with other teams?"

Kaito snorted and shrugged.

"If that's what you want, but it'd be sort of foolish if you have different coins. And even if you do, even comrades can turn on one another," he said. "So, come get your coins. The one who passed out your waivers will take them back and blindfold you, seeing as we can't have you little genin seeing what direction we go in."

"Well," Kaito said a minute latter, raising an eyebrow. "Get to it!"

That was all that was needed for everyone to begin moving.

**xXx**

"So, what do we have?" Koji asked as he sat against a tree not too far from where they'd been dropped an hour earlier.

Naruto pulled the coin from one of her waist pouches and turned it over. It was silver and the symbol was that of Wind.

"Wind," she said. "So, what should we do. I'm pretty sure given the thickness of the forested area we're pretty deep inside."

Mizumaru barked, from where he sat by Kasumi's side.

"The closer to the exit of this dry place the more sand we should see," Kasumi said. "Did anyone pack a map?"

"I did," Koji said, pulling it from his bag. "Though this place, Area 51, may not be on it for all we know."

Naruto shrugged, putting the coin back in her pouch.

"We have to try, and Suna is nearly in the middle of Wind Country and they said it was only an hour or two out," she said and then sighed. "The problem is in which direction did we go?"

Kasumi bit her lip.

"Mizumaru may be able to track a scent back to the village. Ours or otherwise, but with so many shinobi about and the wind, heat and sand... it wont be easy."

Mizumaru whined and her ears flattened against her head in agreement of her partners words.

Koji sighed, shrugging.

"Getting out is one thing, but getting the other two coins..." Koji began and stopped suddenly when they heard rustling.

Naruto's eyes widened and ducked as a kunai flew passed and hit into the park where her head once was.

"You don't need to worry about that," a voice said as three genin stepped from their places. "We will be taking your coin, Konoha nin."

There were three, all dressed in darker colors and some form of camo in odd places in blue and white. Their hitai-ate's were of Kirigakure.

"Kasumi," Koji began, as they all stood ready. "Be ready as back up with Mizumaru."

Kasumi nodded, her eyes narrowed.

"Right," she said.

"Naru, what do you think?" he asked, looking over at her to find her in her more common Uzumaki clan style.

"We go wild," she said, and flashed a bright smile before becoming serious again.

"Pathetic," one of the Kiri genin spat. "What are you Blondie, six?"

Naruto's eyes grew dark as she gritted her teeth.

"I'm nearly nine, 'ttebane!" she nearly growled and she jumped back and threw shuriken at the enemy nins.

That was what began the fight.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" Koji said, and wasn't too surprised when the male genin he faced sent a surprisingly strong water jutsu back.

"Keh, you'll have to do better then tha – ack!" the genin said and he was hit from behind by Mizumaru.

Meanwhile, Naruto faced two of the genin, who had decided to gain up on the 'pretty blonde' as the last male Kiri genin had told his teammate, a girl with short black hair and cold brown eyes.

Naruto was good, and at first had the upper hand as she used her agility to block, dodge, duck, jump and anticipate her enemies moves... but that got harder as they showed just how skilled they were at working together.

"Never seen a girl with whiskers before," the male said, smirking. "Wonder if she's one of those bloodline freaks?"

The female sneered, and used Naruto's moment of distraction to nail her in the gut and place her kunai against her neck harshly, drawing a line of blood.

"Has to be, I mean look at her," the girl sneered. "No one has marks like that and is human."

Naruto's eyes widened and she gasped at those words, words of villagers coming back to her.

_'Not human...'_

_'Demon brat...' _

_'Kitsune bitch...'_

_'Get out demon, no one wants you...'_

_'Can't be human, not with marks like...'_

"Let go of her," Kasumi snapped as she punched the girl holding Naruto in the side of the head, a kunai drawn.

The girl was forced to let her go, and Naruto backed up slowly, and then glared at the remaining genin, the male.

"Futon: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm)!" Naruto said after going through seals at a relatively fast pace.

The genin was hit by the violent wind and knocked back into his teammate fighting Koji and Mizumaru.

"Bitch!" the genin said and Naruto snorted.

"Give us your coin," Koji said as the girl Kasumi had been fighting hit the ground next to her teammates. "Or me and Naru will show you something we've been working on for a while. If you're lucky you'll live."

"You'll have to kill us, bloodline trash," one of the males spat noticing Koji's Sharingan eyes.

"How about... not," Kasumi said holding ninja wire and giving one end to Mizumaru it was no time that the three genin were bound together by the near invisible strands of wire.

"Ahh, when we get out of here you're dead!" the girl cried, struggling.

Kasumi snorted and walked forward, searching through the genin with concentration in case they tried something.

"Ahh, found it," Kasumi said, holding up a silver coin and turning it slowly with a smirk. "Earth!"

"Dattebane!" Naruto cheered, jumping up, fist hitting air in her mini-celebration. "We should go now, we need to find the last coin."

Kasumi who had walked over to hand the coin to Naruto nodded, and Koji grabbed his bag after stuffing the map back inside.

"Don't walk away from us," one of the genin said after getting free of the wire and headed straight for team seven who was about to leave with a long thick sword.

Koji and Naruto were the first to react, and on instinct went into hand seals.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)!" Koji called, and even though he didn't have a conductor of any sort he knew Naruto's part of their combination attack would make up for it.

"Fūton: Atsugai (Wind Release: Pressure Damage)!" Naruto said.

The wind that was released was tornado-like, when it hit with the fire from Koji's jutsu it was like a whirlpool-tornado (or many waterspouts would be more accurate) were created and began heading towards the Kiri nin.

There was no escape for the three nin and team seven couldn't look away at the fiery masses hit and there were short screams before nothing.

If they were all three dead Naruto, Koji and Kasumi didn't know, but the one who'd tried to attack them definitely was.

"Yo-you two did say that new attack you'd been working on was... dangerous," Kasumi said, forcing down bile.

The three had killed before, being genin for so long it was rather unavoidable. Those had been bandits though, having done c-ranks, besides the first c-rank which was more b-rank then c-rank once down and over with.

"We should go," Naruto said, forcing down her own emotions.

That attack had taken her nearly half a year to master as well she had, and another six or so months to safely combine with one of Koji's Katons for the combination they'd just done. It was also her most powerful wind jutsu.

Koji nodded and the three genin turned and ran in a direction they hoped would bring them closer to the third coin and the desert of Suna.


	11. Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams IV

**So, I am sorry for the lateness of this chapter. It took me a while because of what free time I had and this chapter was a bit annoying. **

**I wanted to get to the final part of the exam, and finish up the Chunin Arc, and head into the Nightmare Arc (which will involve the Uchiha Massacre for those who wonder why I decided to name it that). **

**But it looks like there might be two or three more chapters before we head towards that and unlocking Naruto's bloodline. Also, at the end of the chapter will be some information on Naruto's clan taijutsu styles and techniques. Sometimes those sort of AN's will appear. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 10: Journey To Sunagakure: Chūnin Exams Part ****IV.**

**. **

"I suggest you surrender," Naruto snapped, her eyes narrowed and cold as she held one of her mothers katanas (Toyotama-Hime being the name etched into the blade below the hilt and guard) to the genin's throat.

If the girl moved it would be all too easy to slide the blonde through the front of her neck and out the back or take off her head among other things.

She had even been working on pushing her chakra nature into her weapon – though she didn't claim to be very good at Kenjutsu just yet. She was good enough to make a point.

Her nature had been a surprise, most people of fire country had Fire affinities, though earth and water were not so unusual. To find she had a very strong wind affinity with a fairly powerful lightning affinity (though not nearly as strong as someone with Lightning as their main affinity) had been a surprise.

It had come as no surprise when Koji had a fire affinity but the fact Kasumi had a water affinity had been slightly surprising. Inuzuka's usually had earth or fire affinities.

"They don't have the coin, Naru-chan," Kasumi said, sighing as she finished checking the two knocked out sand genin's on the ground.

"Look, you can have my coin..." the girl said, holding her hands up in surrender.

Naruto did not remove her blade though and looked to Koji. His Onyx eyes flashed as he nodded and went to looking for the coin, being sure to keep his hands from any part of the girl that would offend her.

Naruto noticed how careful he was and had to withhold a snort of amusement, while Kasumi huffed, and crossed her arms.

"Ah, there's two... an earth and heaven," he said, holding up the coins and Naruto nodded.

"You'll let me go then.." the girl was interrupted as the the katana was removed with speed she barely made out and then darkness.

Naruto had stabbed her katana into the ground below her and shot forward quickly to press a pressure point to knock the girl out. It all happened within a span of a few seconds, rather slow in Naruto's opinion but the fact the girl hadn't seen it coming making it seem much faster.

But then, she was still working on her speed, though she wasn't slow by any means.

Picking up the long katana which had a green hilt with diamond like designs in a gold color, the blade itself was made from chakra conductive metal; Not exactly common for most katana's, she sealed it back into a scroll and placed it in one of her pouches on her thigh – it was amazing how with the right seal the smallest scroll could hold the largest item.

Usually she would have simply held it at her waist with her black obi but that would have given away an advantage in the exam.

"We never said that," Naruto muttered to the unconscious girl.

It was best to leave them unconscious so as to not have them attack when they went to leave, they'd learned that the hard way with that Kiri team.

They also didn't want to go around killing every team they met, and they'd met three or four in the three days they'd been in this place.

"It must be the lack of ramen, makes her cranky," Kasumi said, shaking her head.

"Hn." Koji nodded.

"Well, we should head out now. I think given the sand around here we should continue in that direction. The sun should help up pinpoint exactly where we are and which way Suna is," Naruto said, her face very thoughtful.

It was almost unusual for the blonde.

Koji and Kasumi nodded and the three began their trek back towards the deserts of Suna and the Hidden Village itself, with three days to spare.

* * *

Two days later team seven found there way back to Suna gates, tired, hot, hungry, in need of water and injured. Compared to others returning or still out there they weren't too terribly hurt.

Naruto was mostly tired, most her injuries healing much quicker thanks to Uzumaki natural quick healing and the added bonus of being a Jinchuuriki. Other then that there was mostly some cuts and bruises, and Kasumi had been able to heal the more serious injuries, and was probably the closest to passing out.

"So, a Konoha team," the Proctor said from his place at the gate. "You're the first team from your village here, congratulations on making it here."

"Hn," Koji grunted, rubbing his left arm where one of the teams to attack them for their coins had nearly broken it.

"Here are our coins," Naruto said, holding out the three silver coins.

Kaito nodded, took the coins and handed them off.

"Good, you still have your original coin," he said and all three members of team seven raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Proctor-san?" Kasumi asked.

Kaito smirked, and chuckled.

"Well, there was one part of the test I didn't mention. Teams who do not return with their original coin, the one with their teams chakra signature absorbed into it, are disqualified."

"WHAT!?" all three exclaimed, Koji in a rather un-Uchiha like manner.

"Yes, it's too see how seriously you genin take this part of the exam. You see, the coins are like a scroll, sometimes a ninja will be tasked with carrying important scrolls, sometimes containing classified information between unified villages or even villages undergoing a treaty agreement. There will be enemies wanting to stop it, or take the scroll to read. If that happens, the mission is compromised and if not recovered before opened classed as a failure."

Team seven looked grim as they realized what he meant.

"So in other words, if we can't keep the 'scroll', or in our case the coin, protected until we reach the location of delivery... then clearly becoming a chūnin isn't something we would be ready for," Koji said.

Kaito nodded, smiling lightly.

"Right. Not many understood the point, and why we didn't tell you before you left," the Proctor said.

Naruto snorted, and said, "Clearly the exam isn't meant to be simple or easy, otherwise anyone could become a chūnin."

"Right," Kaito said. "You should head in now, if you need medical attention head for the hospital. Otherwise be ready tomorrow for the next phase of the exam."

They nodded and the three genin and one ninkin walked through the gates and headed for the hotel to relax and regain their strength from the last few days.

Kaito watched them go and looked at one of the jōnin next to him.

"If those three don't become chūnin, I'll be surprised," he said, and the jōnin nodded having thought the same thing upon there arrival and reactions to the news.

The one with the coins chuckled on his other side and Kaito looked over to notice that the blonde hadn't given him three coins but four if the fact the inspector had four coins meant anything.

"Well, I'll be damned, they managed to get four coins instead of the needed three," he said, blinking in surprise.

* * *

Gaara was unsure if it was a good idea, showing up at Naruto's after hearing that the girl had finally arrived back in the village having passed the second exam.

He wasn't sure how to explain his emotions over the last few days, or the day before it as she'd never showed any fear of him and even defended him once.

It made the odd feeling in his chest change and his stomach twist at times. When he'd told Yashamaru over the days she'd been at Area 51 he'd seemed surprised but explained that the emotion he'd tried to describe sounded like concern or worry for the blonde.

He did know he had felt... happy to be able to see her again.

Gaara was pulled from his thoughts as the front door was opened by a familiar tanned blonde, and he noticed she didn't wear the kimono-blouse, obi and skirt she usually did or any of her ninja gear.

Instead she stood in a black tank top with an orange swirl on the front, probably her clan symbol, and pair of orange shorts.

Her hair was loose, completely so the hair clip holding one side away from her face was removed and it made her bangs a bit more unruly, and almost spiky looking in places.

"Hmm? Gaara!" Naruto greeted, a smile coming across her face. "I'm glad to see you."

Gaara smiled slightly as well, something he'd never truly done often before and still wasn't used to. In his hands was a brown paper bag, inside was medical creams he'd gotten with the help of his uncle. Holding it out to her he sighed in relief when she blinked and took the offered bag.

he had feared she might not, seeing as the last time he'd done something similar the door had been shut in his face.

"Medical creams," Naruto mused as he peaked inside and then she smiled. "Thank you Gaara. Koji, Kasumi and I were about to have dinner... would you like to join us?"

Gaara realized during the whole interaction he hadn't said a word and flushed slightly.

"If it's alright," he said and Naruto chuckled and grabbed his hand in hers, pulling him inside.

He was surprised by just how warm her hand felt in his, or the simple fact his sand hadn't made a barrier between them. Even days after the fact, this still served to surprise him as the sand usually stopped everyone from touching him. Sometimes even Yashamaru, though he wasn't sure why the sand let him through sometimes and at others refused.

* * *

In the end, only eight teams passed the second phase, leaving only twenty-four genin left.

"Congratulations on making it here," Mikoto-sensei told them as they arrived at the stadium not far (practically behind) the Academy.

She was smiling in a proud manner, and Naruto, Koji and Kasumi all smiled back, while Mizumaru barked twice in greeting.

"I'll be watching how this all goes, good luck you three," she said, and then walked over to stand with the other Jōnin sensei's that were there for their teams.

The Proctor from before was there, and Naruto also saw Gaara and Yashamaru not far behind who she was sure was the Kazekage.

The Kazekage had hair similar to Gaara's dark red yet was more brown at the same time. His eyes were darker, not the pale teal she liked about Gaara's eyes but Gaara looked a lot like this man leading her to believe he was his father.

Smiling at Gaara who didn't seem to like being part of a large crowed, and in sight of so many people, she waved and caught the pale eyes of her new friend. She saw his face light up marginally, and she wondered if anyone else would notice.

From the fact the Kazekage noticed her and seemed to trail her gaze and wave from her too who she was sure was his son told her he did.

She wouldn't expect anything less from a ninja, she noticed a small frown and quirked eyebrow at the interaction. The Kazekage seemed to look at Yashamaru, and mutter something before Gaara's uncle nodded.

She wasn't sure what was said but she really couldn't be bothered to care.

"I wish to congratulate everyone whose made it to the final part of the, or at least semi-final part. Unfortunately there are still quite a few of your left, so there will be a preliminary fight that will decide who go forward. The rules have not changed much when it comes to the fights. The waivers you signed hold up until the end of the exams, so killing is allowed but unnecessary killing will be taken into consideration by those judging the exams. The Proctor – " Kazekage motioned to Kaito who nodded from where he stood.

"Will have the power to interfere if he deems it, and call a winner before fatal force is used. If you do not stand down and kill anyways you will be disqualified. Fights will be chosen randomly, and show up on the board above the Kage box. If there are no questions then we will begin shortly," the Kazekage finished.

It wasn't hard for everyone realize instantly the man was very business oriented. He got straight to the point.

No one bothered asking questions, it was obvious what was expected from them.

Nodding the Kazekage looked to Yashamaru and Gaara and nodded before going to the box above the stadium which would be where the Kazekage sat with anyone else of importance – like the Wind Daimyo or the Kazekage's Anbu guards.

It seemed Gaara was also going to be up there with two other children, both of which she couldn't see well but seemed to want to be far away from Gaara.

Up above the stadium was a balcony like place for genins in the exam and jōnin sensei's and below that was bleacher like seats for civilians and anyone wanting to watch the tournament.

The board on the Kage box began to rolls at a fast pace before stopping on two names.

**Uchiha Koji VS Ryouichi of Kumo. **

* * *

"Good luck," Kasumi said, smiling over at the dark haired boy.

Naruto nodded, and added, "Ditto. Kick his butt, Ko-kun!"

Koji's lips quirked up in a small smile-smirk, and he forced back an eye twitch from the shortened version of his name Naruto had come up with over the years. She didn't use it often, but when she did he always had the urge to twitch.

"Hn," he offered as a reply and began his walk down to the stadium along with a boy with strange light blue hair, pale skin, and large pink eyes. A very strange individual indeed.

"He doesn't talk much anymore, does he?" Kasumi muttered, half talking to herself.

Naruto looked down, some of her bangs not held back by her small clip fell to shadow her face, and she thought of the reason for Koji's turn of emotions.

Koji had suffered tragedy only months before, with his brothers supposed suicide. Koji had been unsure what to believe, but a strong part refused to believe his older brother had taken his own life.

Some thought Itachi had kill his best friend, but that was something both she and Koji refused to believe.

Naruto couldn't bring herself to believe either story. She'd known both Shisui and Itachi for years now. Something had happened, something which was now making Itachi act strangely, but she had no idea what. If Mikoto-sensei did she wasn't talking about it.

"Death is never easy to accept," she muttered, barely loud enough for Kasumi to here. "But Koji is strong, he'll be more like his old self given time."

Kasumi bowed her head in understanding. She had heard of the death of Koji's older brother, it had shaken her friend (and crush though she wouldn't admit that to anyone but herself) so badly she was becoming concerned he'd never be his lazy, laid back self again.

It had hurt Naruto nearly as much. Sometimes she forgot that Naruto viewed the Uchiha as a adopted family of sorts. She had none of her own, and Koji and the Uchiha – well mainly Mikoto-sensei's family and Koji's, though she was on good terms with the whole clan – were her first bonds.

"I hope so," Kasumi muttered and both girls turned as the fight between their teammate and the other boy began.

* * *

**AN: So, I want to get some information about some things out there. Once I've revealed Naruto's bloodline I'll do the same for it. This is mostly for some techniques and her family Taijutsu's to keep everyone up to date and further explain it. **

**Uzumaki Clan; Raikou Kitsune = Lightning Fox.**

**The Lightning Fox style had been in the main branch of the Uzumaki clan for generations, since the founding of Uzushiogakure. **

**Though it can be learned by the branch family members as well once they proven capable ninja, seeing as the only reason the clan had a main family and branch similar to the Hyuuga family was too help keep the family tree straight. **

**The man family were the most close to the bloodline, while the branch family was mostly cousins and distant cousins etc. It was also another way to organize the family head of the clan and the clan itself. **

**The style relies on speed and agility, and was most suited for females of the clan. Though was created to work with only speed, if a member did not have the proper agility and flexibility because of their body type. **

**It is more of an offense than defense, seeing as Uzumaki were masters of Fuuinjutsu (seals) and Kenjutsu (weapons) depending on the clan member. It works hand in hand with pressure points, and mix with Lightning, which was the most common elemental affinity in the Uzumaki clan. **

**Later became even more capable as a defense when a member learned more of human anatomy and was able to find even more pressure points that could temporarily cripple or paralyze. **

**Naruto herself has also added to the style, studying more about anatomy herself from Medical scrolls to find a more in-depth search on pressure points. **

**The style is even more offensive now thanks to the fact she found pressure points that could be fatal when hit (though she was sure it had not escaped Uzumaki's before, but for some reason they didn't believe the style needed to be more fatal). **

**Namikaze Clan; Kazeken Doragon = Wind-Blade Dragon.**

**The Wind-Blade Dragon was created by an unknown party of the once large Namikaze clan at an unknown time in history but was one of the few things not lost to the soul survivors of the main family. It is more of a defense, but can also be offensive to nearly the same degree. **

**One of it's greatest defensive and offenses is mixing wind chakra to increase speed and strength, something later added by Minato by watching his wife mix her affinity with her clan taijutsu. **

**There is also a taijutsu ability called Kazeken, wind blades. **

**It takes a strong wind affinity and control, but is not classed as a ninjutsu because Minato had such a control over his affinity he could use it similar to a Rasengan – without hand seals and it uses very little chakra, but actual wind influenced by small traces of chakra. **

**It is easier to master with a weapon, but can be done simply by movement of the hand. **

**The draw back is it can cause injury to the one doing the technique if not mastered and careful. It is not to be done ****without near mastery of a wind affinity. **

**Another thing that made it extremely effective and dangerous was the Hiraishin, which of course only Minato could truly do having created the technique. **

**Raijū Kitsune = Thunder beast fox.**

**Raijū was also a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. Its body is composed of lightning and may be in the shape of a cat, fox, weasel, or wolf. The form of a white and blue wolf (or even a wolf wrapped in lightning) is also common. ** **It may also fly about as a ball of lightning (in fact, the creature may be an attempt to explain the phenomenon of lightning). Its cry sounds like thunder.**

**Raijū is the companion of Raijin, the Shinto god of lightning.**

**The ****Raijū**** Kitsune is the style created by Naruto mixing her clan styles, and as such is very unpredictable. There is only a basic level for mastery as one must master the Uzumaki and Namikaze style completely to really get the full worth of the ****Raijū**** Kitsune. **

**Once the basics of the equal mix of offense and defense, taken from the two styles is mastered, the style relies on the mastery of the Raikou Kitsune and the Kazeken Doragon to be effective – as said before. It was developed with the idea of mixing Kenjutsu, so one would need a understanding of the art to use the style effectively, but it is not necessarily a requirement. **

**The style is so unpredictable it can confuse the Sharingan so that it can no longer predict the movements nor copy the style.**

**Toyotama-Hime**** = Katana blade. green hilt with diamond like designs in a gold color, the blade itself was made from chakra conductive metal; Not exactly common for most katana's, and a white silk ribbon around the hilt close to the guard of the katana. **

**The name of the sword is etched onto the silver like blade close to the guard in Kanji. **

**Toyotama-Hime (meaning luminous jewel), better known as Otohime, is a goddess in Japanese mythology. She is the beautiful daughter of Ryūjin, the god of the sea. **

**She married the hunter Hoori and gave birth to a son, who in turn produced Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan. After giving birth, she turned into a dragon and flew away. **

**Hitokiri = Katana Blade, looks nearly identical to Toyotama-Hime, except it is a blood red (with the same diamond pattern yet in a ivory color instead of gold) hilt blade, with a much darker blade, also made from chakra metal. **

**Only the blade is not silver in hue, but closer to black and has a partially serrated blade close to the guard of the sword, though the rest of the blade is not serrated. Instead of a white ribbon it has a pitch black one. The name of the sword is etched in gold on the swords blade in kanji. **

**Hitokiri means Human Slayer, though Person Slayer or Man Slayer are also pretty much accurate translations from what I can find. **

_**Sneak Peak of one of Naruto's developed jutsu's that will appear next chapter;**_

**Raiton: Raikou Kitsune; A Raiton (lightning) release Ninjutsu, created by Naruto. Most likely a B-Rank Ninjutsu seeing as it is not usually fatal but can harm do some considerable damage with enough force and chakra. **

**The Hand seals are Dragon – Ox – Tiger – Snake – Ox. It creates three large foxes made from lightning which attack the enemy given. **

**If combined with a water attack can cause some serious damage, but as Naruto does not have a affinity for water and has never been able to use water jutsu's right she'd have to have a partner to use this combination. Much like the combination attack she and Koji created. **

**_And Chapter 11 Preview!_ :**

_Koji stared at his opponent without fear, though he was a bit nervous. _

_He had confidence in his abilities but he didn't know how this Kumo-nin worked, and he still only had two tomoe's in his Sharingan after nearly three years of having it. _

_He knew some Uchiha's thought it rather odd, and shameful – mostly the elders of the clan for the latter. _

_He suspected this boy might have some sort of bloodline, his coloring looked much to unique for him to be a normal ninja. Of course, he could be wrong, he knew there were some people with the most unique hair colors. _

_Hatake Kakashi had silver-white hair. _

_The Haruno's, who he'd seen in passing since the daughter of the civilian clan seemed to follow Sasuke around quite often, had pink hair. _

_That crazy Anko woman Shisui once told him about had purple hair, as did one of the Anbu – Neko (cat) – he'd seen keeping an eye on Naruto once over the years. _

_Ryouichi smirked as the Proctor called the match to a start. _

_"Ready to loose?" the blue haired boy snarked and Koji narrowed his eyes and fell into a stance. _

_"Hn, I was going to ask the same thing," Koji said, and smirked before making the first move. _

_Some may think that was foolish, but Koji needed to know what the boy was capable of, what better way then to attack first? He just had to hope the Kumo-nin wasn't as skilled as his arrogant confidence boasted._


	12. Tournaments: Chūnin Exams V

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 11: Tournaments: Chūnin Exams Part V.**

Koji stared at his opponent without fear, though he was a bit nervous.

He had confidence in his abilities but he didn't know how this Kumo-nin worked, and he still only had two tomoe's in his Sharingan after nearly three years of having it.

He knew some Uchiha's thought it rather odd, and shameful – mostly the elders of the clan for the latter.

He suspected this boy might have some sort of bloodline, his coloring looked much to unique for him to be a normal ninja. Of course, he could be wrong, he knew there were some people with the most unique hair colors.

Hatake Kakashi had silver-white hair.

The Haruno's, who he'd seen in passing since the daughter of the civilian clan seemed to follow Sasuke around quite often, had pink hair.

That crazy Anko woman Shisui once told him about had purple hair, as did one of the Anbu – Neko (cat) – he'd seen keeping an eye on Naruto once over the years.

Ryouichi smirked as the Proctor called the match to a start.

"Ready to loose?" the blue haired boy snarked and Koji narrowed his eyes and fell into a stance.

"Hn, I was going to ask the same thing," Koji said, and smirked before making the first move.

Some may think that was foolish, but Koji needed to know what the boy was capable of, what better way then to attack first? He just had to hope the Kumo-nin wasn't as skilled as his arrogant confidence boasted.

Ryouichi was able to counter Koji's onslaught of punches, kicks and everything in between. But barely. Pulling back from the offense, Koji allowed Ryouichi the chance to go on the defense, if only to get an idea of his taijutsu style.

"You're pretty good," the blue haired boy said, as his fist connected with Koji's forearm as he raised it to block.

To Koji's surprise the shock of the hit shook him, though he hid it well. It was almost as if his strength had increased upon the hit connecting, or maybe he'd infused chakra into the hit?

He knew it was possible because one of the sannin was famous for her super strength.

Jumping back, Koji smirked and didn't even reply to the other genin's comment before he attacked again.

Koji's fist was barely dodged by the blue haired boy, who had twisted to the side at the last minute and launched his own attack with a kick to Koji's seemingly undefended back.

This may have worked if not for the fact Koji was used to fighting a much faster and more agile fighter, that being Naruto whose style was much more honed then this boys.

There was also the fact that after nearly three years as a genin, there were only so many things Mikoto-sensei could teach them that were low rank.

While the training had consisted mostly on physical strengths and the ability to work together there had been one jutsu they'd practically begged the older woman to teach them (though to go over everything learned might take more time then worth mentioning, so he didn't).

Shunshin.

Not common for genin to know, but not so uncommon either. But you can imagine the surprise the other boy felt when his foot didn't connect with Koji's back but air and leaves that hadn't quite disappeared yet.

* * *

"He's getting serious," Naruto noticed as she and Kasumi watched the fight with rapt attention.

Mizumaru barked in agreement, and Kasumi bit her lip.

"He's getting really good with that Shunshin," she said, and Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah, but being _his _brother, did you expect less?" Naruto asked, avoiding saying Shisui's name as it always brought a flash of lose and sadness to her heart when she did.

Shisui had been known for his Shunshin, and Koji had been determined to be as good if not better then his brother when it came to the technique. It would be a while before he got there, but he was already one of the quickest with the jutsu.

Her thoughts were only proven as Koji recovered from being punched in the gut and attacked Ryouichi again, only to use the Shunshin three time in quick succession to confuse and reach his target quickly.

Koji's fist struck the blue haired boys cheek and sent him back skidding across the ground.

"He's doing well, isn't he?" Mikoto-sensei said more than asked as she came up behind her two students.

Burgundy and blue eyes looked up at her and smiled, nodding.

"He is, but something is wrong. I mean, that hit should have effected blue-boy more," Naruto said, frowning. "I know from experience that Koji had a mean punch when he's going all out."

Kasumi frowned as did Mikoto.

"Blue-boy?" Kasumi questioned and Naruto flushed, looking down in embarrassment.

"I can't remember his name, sue me."

* * *

Ryouichi panted slightly as he stood, running the back of his hand over his right cheek and mouth, where a small line of blood could be seen.

"You actually made me bleed," he said, smirking. "Though I doubt you could have done any of that without those eyes of yours."

Koji's Sharingan eyes glared, and he scoffed.

"Shows what you know. These eyes are just a tool, they're not the reason behind me being able to hit you."

Koji clinched his right fist and winced at the pain that shot through and up his arm. It was almost as if he'd hit a brick wall.

Ryouichi laughed.

"Well, you wont be able to do that again. You're not the only one with a bloodline," he sneered.

His pink eyes flared for a moment before light transparent blue scales seemed to appear sparsely on his skin. It was almost not noticeable, but his Sharingan made them clearer.

Seeing as others had gasped in the stands it was noticeable even to normal eyes, but he doubted it was as noticeable to them as it was to someone with the Sharingan or possibly the Byakugan.

"Tatsusukēruton, or simply Tatsusukēru – Dragon-scale Release or Dragon-scale – my bloodline."

Koji stilled his own shock and confusion. Truth be told he'd never heard of a bloodline like that before and was weary. Was it only a defensive bloodline, or did it have offensive properties?

"I've never heard of a bloodline like that."

Ryouichi smirked, and fell back into a stance, removing a oddly long kunai from his pouch.

"I'm an orphan, and the first with this bloodline. I named it myself, it's not known yet so I'm surprised you haven't heard of it," he said. "With this power, you have no chance Uchiha."

Koji removed a kunai from his own pouch and glared. He wouldn't loose, not even if the boy had an unknown bloodline.

"Enough talk," Koji said coldly and the two moved at the same time to attack each other.

Sparks flew as the two kunai's collided.

* * *

"Is that even possible?" Kasumi asked, eyes wide. "A bloodline that's never been seen before?"

Naruto was also as shocked as her friend but shrugged.

"I can't see why not. I've read a bit about bloodlines, no one really knows how they began to start with. Though there is a supposed myth about how the Sharingan and Byakugan are offspring of the Rinnegan."

"Rinnegan?" Kasumi questioned and Naruto shrugged.

"It's just a myth as far as the books are concerned. I'll give you the book I read about it in after the exams."

Mikoto smiled slightly and interrupted her two students.

"New bloodlines are known to pop up every now and then. The Yamanaka's bloodline is the newest in Konoha and seeing as the third generation has inherited it since the original person to have it, it's passable by blood, hence it being a bloodline."

"Wait, you mean the Yamanaka's mind jutsu's are a bloodline?" Naruto asked. "I thought those were just jutsu's they created. Family secrets."

Mikoto shook her head.

"Many believe that at first but anyone without the Yamanaka blood can't do them. The hand seal to activate it isn't even a normal seal."

"What happens if someone tries and isn't part of the clan?" Kasumi asked, and regretted a moment later as Mikoto smirked.

"An Uchiha tried copying it once back when the bloodline was new. He died," she said. "The shock to his body trying to safely move his mind and soul to another killed him. Well, his soul and mind anyways. He was a vegetable, brain dead. His body died soon after."

Kasumi and Naruto both shivered and focused back on the match.

Koji looked worn out and was panting as he jumped back. The scales that covered his opponent left little area he could strike to wound.

Unfortunately the blue haired boy didn't have that problem and Koji had a few shallow cuts that they could see.

"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique)!" Koji called, after going through the seals as fast as he could.

It seemed Ryouichi wasn't expecting such a powerful fire attack, but then, neither was Naruto, Kasumi or Mikoto.

"He...he's finally managed to do it," Kasumi said in awe. "His most powerful Katon jutsu."

Naruto smiled widely as she watched the dragon shaped fire jutsu head towards the blue haired boy who tried to dodge only to not have time. Instead the boys hunched down, his arms crossed in front of him, his eyes seemed closed.

As Koji moved quickly towards the boy who was trying to fend off the high temperature flames with his own bloodline (or so it seemed), Naruto noticed his eyes.

They were Sharingan red as expected but instead of two tomoe's, there were three in each eye.

"He did it!" Naruto gasped. "His Sharingan, it's matured."

Mikoto smiled widely for once, having seen that development as well.

Kasumi grinned, and pumped her fist into the air.

"Go Koji!" she cheered.

* * *

Koji eye narrowed, though he had a faint smile as he heard Kasumi's cheer for him, and he seeing the fire fade he used the Shunshin in quick succession.

Or as quick as he could with the chakra he had left, that one fire jutsu having taken a little under half of what he had left. Not to mention he was using the Sharingan and it needed chakra to stay active.

Appearing behind him Koji noticed what he'd suspected before to be true. While the back of his neck was covered in defensive scales, much like most parts of his body there were areas not protected.

He'd been sure he'd seen an important area not protected during their fight.

To anyone else it might not seem important, but having fought against Naruto for so long you pick up a thing or two about anatomy and pressure points.

Seeing Ryouichi about to turn he acted as fast as he could and hit the pressure points with two fingers and the boys eyes widened and he fell face first onto the arena floor, his bloodline receding as he lost consciousness.

Koji sighed, and backed away, allowing his Sharingan to fade back to dark gray eyes.

"Power from a bloodline or otherwise, doesn't mean a thing without skill," he said even though the unconscious boy could not hear him.

"Winner: Uchiha Koji!"

Kasumi and Naruto both clapped along with many others of the crowd and met Koji on his way back to the competitors area.

"Great fight, Ko-kun," Naruto said as she hugged the lazy-clam boy along with Kasumi.

Mikoto chuckled at the picture it made – both girls having latched onto either of his sides to hug him and Koji's eyes wide and a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Lucky bastard," a genin whispered.

"Being hugged by two hot girls, and his teammates at that."

Mikoto rolled her eyes at the maturity of some of the other genin from other teams and Naruto and Kasumi had finally pulled back with smiles.

"Thanks," Koji muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "By the way Naru-chan, thanks for that last move. I don't think I would have won without it."

"Huh?" Kasumi asked, blinking.

Naruto laughed.

"Don't mention it," she said, knowing what he meant having seen him using one of her moves to knock the boy out.

"That last move, I used pressure points to knock him out. I got lucky it was one of the few areas not protected by his scales. I figure there was other areas but I couldn't last much longer. That Katon really drained me of chakra."

Mikoto smiled.

"I could see that, you did great out there Koji. You've come far with your Katon jutsu's. It's not often a genin can control a B-rank jutsu."

Team Mikoto turned back towards the arena as the board displayed who would fight next.

**Haruka of Suna Vs Itou Kenshin of Konoha.**

Haruka was a girl in the standard Suna wear, though of course with her own personal flare. Her long brown hair was coming out of a black head cap made to make the burning sun not as hot and stop heatstroke. Her skin was a light tan and she looked about twelve or thirteen.

Itou Kenshin was someone they had seen around Konoha, and had graduated with. His teammates being Aburame Hoshi and Yamanaka Jin.

He had black hair which was held in a small rat-tail (ponytail that wasn't more than four or so inches long), pale skin, and large stormy-gray eyes.

On his back was a black handled ninjatō. Usually Anbu were seen with these type of swords, but sometimes, espcially in Kenjutsu type clans or families you saw them on other ninja as well.

Naruto herself who was growing everyday with Kenjutsu only knew the bare basics when it came to other weapons, like the ninjato. Her knowledge was focused mostly on Katana's seeing as it was the sword of choice of the Uzumaki and her mother.

"Itou Kenshin, I've never heard of that clan name before," Kasumi muttered as the fight began between the Konoha and Suna ninja's.

"That's because he isn't from a clan," Koji said. "Not like his teammates. His uncle was from the Gekko clan, which is not very large and isn't one of the main clans of Konoha. But they're known for their Kenjutsu, the only Gekko left though is a Chunin rght now, I think. Shi—Shisui knew him since they were in the Accademy together. He might be a jonin by now though."

Koji shrugged and continued.

"Itou Kenshin's parents are civilians though, his mother is Gekko's sister who was never a ninja because she had a decease that made her bones too fragile to go into battle with. His father is simply a merchant from what I know."

Mikoto nodded.

"As far as I know, that's right, Koji. Kenshin has been a genin as long as you three have, along with his team. They went to the one in Iwa, but failed to pass the second phase of the exam. He's said to be the next Kenjutsu master of Konoha, and with the help of his uncle I don't doubt it," she said.

Naruto watched as the boy below attacked but it seemed while the boy had skill with his sword, he lacked the speed and hand eye cordination truly needed to utulize them.

It was a problem she herself was still getting past, but was having trouble accomplishing.

She had the speed, but she had to work more on her reaction time, and she didn't have a bloodline like the Sharingan to help with that problem yet.

Haruka seemed to be built for speed and though Naruto hated to admit it she was faster than even her. The way she moved was fluid, like sand or wind, and Naruto had little doubt the girl was a wind affinity which was common among Suna.

It was proven when the girl began throwing wind jutsu's at Kenshin.

Naruto sighed.

"He'll loose," she said. "He's good, but his oponent is a wind affinity, and she seems to know what she'd doing."

Kasumi nodded and added, "From expereince I know someone who relies on a weapon to beat a wind attack is doomed. Naruto's ended spars that way before with her Diatoppa."

Mikoto smiled at her team proud.

"Not always," Mikoto said, drawing their attention. "In this case, he is if he doesn't have any jutsu to defeat her wind, but there are ways for a Kenjutsu master to defeat wind attacks. Speed, being one way, and I'm sure you three could think of other ways given time and the situation."

"Winner: Haruka!"

Turning back their attentions they saw that Kenshin had lost his ninjato, probably to a wind attack and Haruka was above him with a kunai at his throat and one at his heart.

The matches matches continued.

**Yashiro of Kiri Vs Hibiki of Kiri.**

The match ended in a tie, both having knocked each other out. Not surprising seeing as they'd not been going at it as seriously since they seemed to be teammates.

**Megumi of Kumo Vs Aburame Hoshi of Konoha.**

The battle was seriously one sidded. Hoshi a girl with shades, pale skin concealed by black high colar trench coat and long black hair pulled up into two high ponytails, used her Kikachu to drain Megumi of her chakra after a short Taijutsu battle.

Something the Aburame showed promise in, which wasn't surprising seeing as the Aburame were hardly ever seem using many Ninjutsu techinigues. Mostly they used taijutsu, kenjutsu and their bugs.

Needless to say, Aburame Hoshi won.

"Looks like it's your turn, Naru-chan," Kasumi said, and Naruto looked at the screen and nodded.

**Uzumaki Naruto Vs Kyo of Iwa.**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto Vs Kyo of Iwa.**

Kyo, her oponent was a boy a few years older than her, probably around fourteen.

This unfortunately made him much taller and obviously bigger than her. In a way this gave her a advantage, as they said, the bigger you were the harder you fall.

He had muscles that spoke of his training, and was dressed in black and dark green, his Iwa hita-ate on his right left thigh.

His hair was dark blue, almost black and spiky as it reached his mid back and was held by a hair band into a low ponytail.

His eyes were sharp, cold, and purple, dark purple.

Currently he was looking at his oponent as she stood in front of him, feet away. He would admit to being surprised at how young she looked, clearly the youngest in the exam, yet she didn't look or hold herself like a little girl.

If he were less intellegent he'd have goaded her, trying to intimidate her with taunt about her age and running home to cry to her mommy.

But he wasn't, and he was ralativley good at reading people. There was one other thing that stuck out to him instantly.

Her Konoha headband under her long sunset blonde hair, only a shade off from the sunshine locks of the man who'd nearly killed half the ninja of Iwa in the Third Shinobi War, and the same ceruleon blue eyes.

Even her features looked of him, but were also more feminine and round. The eye shape was also off.

The Yondaime Hokage was a man Iwa held a grudge against, though it was slowly ebbing away as the years went on, but it would never truly fade. His own family had nearly been massacred because of that man, Konoha's Yellow Flash.

"Namikaze," Kyo sneered, his eyes narrowed and he saw the blonde girl stiffen up.

It was all the confirmation he needed.

To avenge his clan he'd kill the Kiiroi Senkō's daughter.

* * *

Gaara watched from the Kage booth as Naruto's match was called. He wasn't blind to the sudden look of loathing the boy gave the younger blonde.

The name he spat at her, and the way she stiffened was enough for him to think it meant something to her. But what, her last name was Uzumaki, not Namikaze.

His father's face changed as the name was mentioned and once again his father seemed to stare intently at his blonde friend.

He didn't really like the strange look his father gave Naruto, as if he was trying to dissect her with his eyes. Though he could be misreading it, he was no good with emotions himself, much less reading another's.

"Namikaze," his father muttered. "So he did have a daughter, it makes sense now."

"You mean the Yondaime Hokage? But he died nearly nine years ago," the wind daimyo said.

The Kazekage smirked.

"She looks about Gaara's age, that means she must have been born around the time he died. He was married, if I recall to an Uzumaki," he argued.

Everyone currently present had looks of awe as they stared at the girl below.

"My god, she does look like him," the daimyo muttered as Yashamaru placed the Bingo Book, and older version with the entry for Namikaze Minato in front of him.

The two were obviously related, even Gaara who had caught a look at the book entry could see that.

Turning back to the match, Gaara watched with almost emotionless gaze.

* * *

"I'm going to enjoy this fight, Namikaze," Kyo spat, falling into a stance.

Naruto narrowed her eyes and fell into her more commonly used Raikou Kitsune style.

"I don't know why you Iwa nin keep bringing my father up, but if you haven't noticed my name is Uzumaki Naruto, not Namikaze. I was given my mothers name, and I plan to honor that," she sneered.

Kyo scoffed.

"Makes no difference to me," he said.

"Enough talk, just fight," Naruto ordered.

And like that, the fight began.


	13. Tournaments: Chūnin Exams VI

**So, here is the next chapter. **

**Now, I wanted to finish the exams this chapter so we could move on, but I know how much you wanted to see Naruto's fight so I decided one more chapter, or possibly two would be so bad. **

**The chapter will conclude the exams and the one after their trip back to Konoha. **

**There will be some Gaara and Naruto interaction in the chapter after next, quite a bit of it if all goes to plan. especially seeing as not long after they meet things really go to shit for Gaara.**

**Now, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, so tell me what you think. **

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 12: Tournaments: Chūnin Exams Part VI.**

It was rare that you got strength and speed in the same package, but Kyo was unfortunately one of those few who did.

Naruto learned this the hard way within the first few minutes. While their speed was about equal, Naruto herself being just barely faster than the boy, Kyo was much stronger and with his longer limbs had farther reach than her.

"Ahhg," Naruto groaned as she collided with the arena ground, and skidded across it in a tumbling mess of limbs.

The last punch had really connected, and the pain from her torso led her to believe it would leave a nasty bruise. Her vision corrected as she blinked only to gasp, and roll to the side to avoid the Iwa-nin's foot which had been aimed at her neck.

It occurred to her once more this boy was truly trying to kill her.

This wasn't about becoming chūnin for him, this was about vengeance. Jumping to her feet, Naruto began to take the defense from the dark boys attacks, and his taijutsu she would admit was better than hers in many ways.

It was only through her agility, flexibility, speed and luck she was able to avoid them so well.

He was so quick she was unable to find an opening to even think of striking any of his pressure points and had slowly fallen into a mix of her family styles. Flowing and weaving, spinning and jumping like some sort of twisted ballet dance.

"You can't dodge forever," Kyo snarled.

She barely saw it coming as his leg connected with her left arm, slowing her down enough that his knee was able to slam into her gut, and then almost too fast for her to see in her daze, slam into her face.

Her head snapped back and she flew back to hit the ground once more.

This was not going well, she had underestimated the guys will and skill. If she didn't get it together soon she would loose.

Than there was the fact of experience – he undoubtedly had years of training and experience more than she did.

"Naruto! Don't give up, you can do this!" she heard Kasumi yell, and she looked over to where her teammates were standing on the competitors balcony.

_WOOF!_ She heard Mizumaru bark and in this case, she took that as to mean "Kick his ass!".

Though she had no idea if that was what the ninkin meant or not. Only Kasumi could tell, and from her laugh she figured she was close.

Mikoto-sensei stood behind them, leaning against a wall and even from where she was getting back to her feet she could see the woman was concerned for her.

Koji looked like he was about to charge down into the arena himself and Kasumi was of course trying to reassure her, but Naruto could see the worry on her and Mizumaru despite there earlier proclamations.

"You're not what I expected," Kyo snarked, smirking as he fell back into a stance, a kunai in hand. "I expected more from a Hokage's daughter. A Murders."

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed as she hissed, falling into one of the stances for her blended taijutsu style – the Raijū Kitsune.

Lowering her left hand to her hip pouch she pulled out a scroll and was quick to unseal it, releasing a beautiful katana. It had a blood red and ivory hilt with a black ribbon.

The blade was much darker than a normal blade, almost black in color with gold kanji for 'Hitokiri' on it, and a small area of the blade was serrated. Over all it was a very elegant yet unique katana.

"My father was a hero, a ninja," she spat, her grip tightening on her katana which was pointed at such an angle that it was partially towards the ground and behind her at the same time.

The stance itself was not perfect, there were weak points to it, but for someone just learning all there was about Kenjutsu and blending it with a still in progress taijutsu style, it was very well pulled off.

Kyo snorted.

"You're a fool," he said. "Your father was the worse of the worse. Nearly my whole clan was killed off by him, I am now the last with my father having died on a mission as I grew up, and my mother too frail and depressed to do much. Now I shall avenge them, by killing you."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she said, glaring. "We're ninja, that was a war. Were you expecting him to lay down and die?"

With a growl Kyo sprang forward, restarting the fight. Hitokiri flashed through the air as she met him halfway and sparks flew when the kunai and katana met.

It was rather impressive that he could keep the larger blade back with just a kunai.

* * *

"He's strong," Koji said, seemingly clam but underneath those that knew him could tell he was angry and concerned.

The fight had been going on for over five minutes now, and for the first few he'd been forced to watch as Naruto struggled to keep from being hit by her opponent.

Though she was able to evade most of it, a fair few hits had struck her, all of which had not looked pleasant.

It hadn't come as a surprise when she'd pulled out Hitokiri, though it did concern them all some.

Hitokiri was a katana named and forged for the purpose of going in for the kill, or to severely wound. At least, that was how the history of the blade went. It had been one of the seven blades of the Uzumaki clan – blades with a similar reputation of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist.

Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri were the ones most well known, and the only two that had disappeared with Konoha's Red Hot-Blooded Habanero or Red Chained Death (Aka no rensa-shi) as she was listed in the Bingo books.

Shikigami. Kogitsune, Amatsukitsune, Shikyō, and Tenken. The other five swords of the Uzumaki clan, created at unknown times by unknown weapon smiths.

Few things were known; all were unique, said to be unbreakable, and made from chakra metal.

Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri were made for the main families heir, while the others were gifts to the most gifted of Kenjutsu users in the Uzumaki clan.

Koji himself only knew this because Naruto knew and it wasn't exactly some big clan secret either. It was in any book about the Uzumaki clan, though there were not many in Konoha or in existence any longer.

The remaining blades had disapeared when Uzushio was destroyed.

The point was, if she was using Hitokiri, the 'man-slayer', than she was serious.

"It'll be a tough fight for her," Mikoto-sensei said, wincing as she watched her youngest student and the Iwa-nin fight below.

Kyo had just finished breaking through Naruto's defense and blood had sprayed out of the rather deep looking wound he'd given her on her left forearm.

Naruto seemed to hiss and kick towards the boys knees only for him to jump over the graceful arc of her leg.

In a show of skill and agility Naruto spun around just as Kyo was. Hitokiri flashed through the air, and a spray of blood was seen as Naruto moved with percice speed to a few feet away from where Kyo had landed.

A few seconds later Kyo sank to one knee, holding his stomach. Standing slowly and turning everyone could see the cut through his clothes and the deep gash she'd inflicted on him, from his left side up his torso to just under the area of his heart.

Blood dripped slowly from Hitokiri's blade as she turned back around to face Kyo, Hitokiri flicked out to her right side, the blood flicking off and falling onto the ground in an almost morbid grace.

"She's getting better everyday with her swords," Kasumi said, smiling.

Miktoto chuckled.

"She takes after her mother," she said. "Both of her parents really."

"Mikoto-sensei," Kasumi began, biting her lip. "Naruto, everyone will know now about her father, won't they?"

Mikoto-sensei sighed.

"It's unfortunately, not avoidable at this point. It's sure to be spread around the countries that the Yondaime's legacy lives," she said. "Naruto will just have to claim her inheritance publicly sooner than she might have otherwise. If she takes the Namikaze name is up to her, but even if she keeps her mothers name she's still the last heir to the clan."

* * *

Naruto breathed deeply as she stood, staring at her opponent.

"You're better than I thought," Kyo said, his teeth grinding together in anger and pain. "I wouldn't expect anything less from _his _daughter."

Naruto rolled her eyes. She was getting so tired of everyone bringing up her father, especially the Iwa ninja's.

"Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?" she asked, and began running at Kyo, Hitokiri in a stabbing position for the moment but it looked as if she would only need a moment to rearrange it's position if she desired.

"Doton: Dochuu Eigyo (Earth Release: Underground Fish Projection)!"

Naruto's eyes widened as Kyo sunk underground and she slowed down to a near stop before she heard faint yells from Koji and Kasumi.

It took her a moment too long before she caught him reappearing behind her, Kunai already descending to plunge into her back or chest, depending if she turned in time or not.

The kunai was coming at her in such a way Hitokiri could not be used to counter it, at least not with the skill level she had with it.

With a burst of speed and a flick of her wrist she sent Hitokiri into the air above them as she let the kunai sink into her right arm so far it nearly came out the other-side of it.

She grunted in a loud sound of pain and jumped back, ripping the kunai out as she did.

It wasn't exactly her best idea, as blood splattered around her and on her from the action. Hitokiri began spinning in the air as it descended and with a glare she began quick hand seals, despite her wounds.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)!"

The winds headed at Kyo, who made a seal and gather chakra into his feet, obviously trying to keep him grounded. It seemed to be working, and she figured it was because the boy probably had a earth affinity.

She'd never seen anyone use the underground fish projection so easily and quickly before, unless they had one.

Hitokiri flashed as it was caught and shot towards the boy, who had seen the glint of the near black blade as the wind caught it and propelled it with such a quickness he could not move – not that he could without undoing his chakra and unsticking himself.

And the winds hadn't quite died down enough to chance that.

Going through hand seals once more, her wounds already beginning to heal, she gathered a fair amount of chakra and used one of the very first jutsu's she had worked about a year to create and perfect.

It had been started by her mother, but her mother didn't have a lightning affinity so it had been very hard for her to attempt to finish.

It was easier for Naruto, since her second affinity was lightning – even if it was a lesser affinity to her wind element.

Just as Hitokiri sank into Kyo's right shoulder with a sickening thuck and spray of blood, she launched her technique.

"Raiton: Raikou Kitsunes (Lightning Release: Lightning Foxes)!"

Three foxes, of medium size appeared and with a roaring lightning sound, almost like thunder, they took off at lightning speeds, seeming like flashes of blue-white chakra in the shape of a fox.

Two attacked Kyo's legs, bitting in and the other latched itself to the boys chest.

The lightning lit up Hitokiri and there was a sound almost like lightning striking something but not very loudly. When the small light show obscuring the vew of Kyo disappeared the Iwa-nin was on his knees, breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused.

"I never did anything to Iwa. I had nothing to do with the Third Shinobi War, I hadn't even been born," she said, breathing slightly heavy as she reached for another scroll from her pouch and unsealed Toyotama-Hime.

Spinning it in her right hand once she smirked.

"I won't say I'm sorry, it was a war, and we are ninja. We have to be prepared to die for our villages," she said and broke into a fast jog.

Kyo grunted when the girls foot slammed into his chest, sending him onto his back. He couldn't withhold a scream as she grabbed Hitokiri sticking from his left shoulder and pulled it out as he was forced onto his back.

Staring up he was faced with cold blue eyes which made him want to shiver, they were much to old and passive for a girl no older than nine.

Hitokiri, slicked with his blood was at his heart and the other blade, which he'd seen the name Toyotama-Hime on the blade itself as she'd been approaching was lower, at his groin to his embarrassment and fear.

"I suggest you forfeit," she said, "unless you don't want to continue your clan in the future."

Gulping he nodded shortly. Even if he took the chance, he was never one to have a lot of chakra, his reserves were actually rather small for his age and gender.

What he lacked there he made up for in taijutsu and chakra control. There was also the fact he'd been injured, and had lost a lot of blood and was still loosing blood.

"I forfeit," he said, and the blonde removed her blades and stepped back.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" the proctor called, and then added as if as an afterthought. "Oh, and uh, get a medic."

Cheering broke out.

* * *

Gaara was wide eyed – rather unusual for a boy who rarely showed any form of emotion such at shock – as he watched Naruto's fight end.

He had known she must be good if she was already a genin at nearly nine years old. He himself was trained as a ninja, though not exactly in the Academy in Suna.

His father took care of his training, and it wasn't always very pleasant. He supposed no one trusted him enough to attend the academy.

But he would be the first to admit, without his sand, he probably wouldn't last much longer than ten minutes – if that – against her. But than, he was nine, in a few years he'd have a better chance.

_**'Blood!Blood!I like this human!' **_

Gaara winced as his 'Mother' roared in his head. It wasn't often the Tanuki roared like that, unless blood was involved, and it was never exactly like this. It wasn't roaring for Naruto's blood, it was approving of her methods of fighting the other ninja.

A part of him worried over that, the other part – a much larger part – was struck by curiosity.

"She is powerful," his father said, nodding in a approving yet appraising manner.

"Yes," Yashamaru agreed. "I wasn't expecting her to win, honestly. Despite being the Yondaime Hokage's daughter, she is still only eight, going on nine."

The Kazekage turned, slightly startled, and raised an eyebrow.

"So she is around Gaara's age then. Hmm... I wonder?" he muttered.

Yashamaru was not the only one to wonder what the Kazekage had stumbled upon, or was thinking about.

"Pardon my curiosity, Kazekage-sama," The Wind Daimyo began, rather politely for a ruler of a country, "but what is it you wonder? I assume it's about the girl, Uzumaki-Hime isn't it?"

"Hn, oh nothing," Kazekage replied. "I just pondering on how powerful she'd become one day. That Raiton jutsu she used, it must be one of her own creations – as surprising as it is that someone her age could create a jutsu at all – as I've never seen or heard of it before."

That was not a complete lie.

He had been very impressed by the girls battle, and if she made past her next fight into the finals then he was seriously contemplating her promotion – along with her teammate, the Uchiha boy.

He was rather interested in seeing how their last teammate fared.

But, what he had been contemplating was the coincidence of how the girls father died. It was said the Yondaime Hokage died killing the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Many may believe this, but the Kages, or he at least, was not stupid enough to believe it was possible to kill a Bijū.

If it were Shukaku would not have been imprisoned to begin with and simply killed. He found it curious that she was the almost nine, the same amount of years since the Kyuubi attack and her father's death.

He also knew Namikaze was a seals master, and his wife was as good as him in Fuuinjutsu if not better.

_'Is it possible Konoha made a Jinchuuriki as well?' _he thought to himself as he watched the girl as she stood with her teammates.

_'I suppose we won't know unless she shows some form of demonic chakra. If so though... is she going to be a problem with Gaara? He seems to be growing fond of her, which is worrying in itself.' _

The Kazekage dismissed his thoughts. He would leave it alone, she wouldn't be staying in Suna for long and she might not ever see his youngest son again.

If she did, well, she was powerful, and he doubted she was treated too terribly different from Gaara by Konoha.

If nothing else she may end up helping his son.

* * *

"You did great out there, Naru-chan," Mikoto-sensei said, after Kasumi had finished helping her injuries finish healing.

Most were already healed, perks of being a Jinchuuriki, but Kasumi had insisted on healing her, to quicken the process. But Naruto, being the youngest, was used to Kasumi being a bit protective like that. Ever since their first C-Rank... well the dynamic of Team Seven was one of the best Mikoto had seen.

_Usually_, she thought glumly to herself, _that was how all team sevens began_.

It had been nearly three years though, she was confident they would defeat the curse of team seven.

Though they might not completely defeat the curse of the love triangle or hexagon – despite being from such a prestigious clan as the Uchiha, Mikoto would admit she wasn't too good with math, and placing a name with a shape correctly had always annoyed her to no end.

She digressed though.

The point was she knew of Kasumi's romantic interest in Koji, had for two years now.

She also knew Koji had begun developing feelings for Kasumi, but was conflicted because of standing feelings for Naruto that were still confusing him.

She also knew Naruto had a similar problem, though she claimed it was platonic.

Mikoto wasn't really sure, at times it seemed to be platonic... on both of their parts. But on other times... well it was the most confusing situation she'd ever seen.

She wasn't sure Naruto was even old enough or had been introduced to the concept of crushes or love in the right way to understand the difference between platonic love and romantic love.

"Thanks!" Naruto said cheerfully, looking up from where she'd been looking disdainfully at the blood on her clothes and body.

"For a minute I really thought you were going to make Kyo less male," Kasumi snickered and Koji couldn't withhold a slight shiver.

Being male, he could definitely sympathize for the Iwa-nin, at least a little, the boy had tried to kill Naruto.

"I'm not that mean, dattebane," Naruto said, smirking in slight amusement.

"Hey, the fights are continuing," Koji said, suddenly and they all turned to watch as the next pair was called.

Kasumi grumbled.

"Damn," she said, "I wanted to fight."

Mikoto-sensei chuckled.

"You're turn will come, Kasumi," she placated, and they turned to watch the fight.

The next fight was between Yoko of Iwa (which cause Naruto to roll her eyes, she'd seriously had enough of Iwa nin's to last her a lifetime) and Yamanaka Jin.

It was a fight to see, and it only made Team Mikoto realize why Team 2 had been the only other team to pass the true genin exam given by the jōnin sensei's of their graduation class.

Yoko was good, just as good as Kyo, who they had seen the black haired girl hovering over in concern, and figured that she must be a close friend or teammate.

Yoko, was good with a blade, better than Naruto – though given how long the Yoko had been training with Kenjutsu compared to Naruto who had just recently (in the last nine months) gotten into it it might not say all that much in a few years.

Jin on the other hand was good with ninjutsu it seemed, and what he lacked in taijutsu and strength he made up for in pure speed.

He wasn't as fast Kyo, but he was faster than Naruto – but she blamed that on longer limbs the boys had and probably having more training and experience.

It was also easy to tell he was a strategist, and trying to back Yoko into a corner, so to say, in order to use his clans techniques to basically posses Yoko.

Unfortunately, before he could – nearly fifteen minutes into the fight, not as long as Kyo and Naruto's battle but close – Yoko had knocked him out with the butt of her sword after activating a genjutsu.

Apparently the girl wasn't only adapt in kenjutsu.

"Iwa sure has strong ninja," Naruto said, looking rather starry eyed at the way Yoko had wielded her wakizashi.

Mikoto nodded.

"They always have really." She sighed, sweeping her bangs out of her face – her hair having been placed in a high pony-tail. "It's the reason we took so long to end the Third Shinobi War. If not for the Yondaime and his Hiraishin... we probably wouldn't have for another half-decade, if we survived."

The three genin looked at their sensei in shock, and awe.

They had known the Third war had been a large event, especially seeing as their most closely allied village had been attacked and destroyed (Uzushio) but they hadn't realized just how big.

But they hadn't even been born then, so no one could truly blame them. Those who hadn't lived through war, never truly realized how much of an effect it had on those who had.

"Kasumi-chan," Koji suddenly said, drawing all their attention. "You're up."

Looking up towards the electric board they realized he was right.

**Inuzuka Kasumi Vs Daichi of Suna. **


	14. Tournaments: Chūnin Exams VII

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 13: Tournaments: Chūnin Exams Part VII.**

******Inuzuka Kasumi Vs Daichi of Suna.**

"A dog?" the Suna ninja asked credulously. "Is that even allowed?"

Kasumi bared her fang-like canines at the boy before her.

He had short dark green hair and nearly the same shade of dark green eyes. The boys dark coloring, yet rather pale skin, was only enhanced by the black and dark green of his clothes.

"Mizumaru is my ninkin partner," she growled out, falling into a basic, yet feral, looking stance.

Daichi followed her example, smirking.

"Lets see what you can do, red," he said, tauntingly.

Kasumi twitched momentarily, and thought about pointing out that her hair wasn't truly red, but a deep dark crimson.

Many mistook her hair for a strange wine-brown at first glance, so it wasn't exactly foreign to her, yet it was a pet peeve of hers.

Her hair was crimson, dammit!

Kasumi came out of her thoughts in order to dodge a fist that would have caught her under the chin, ducking under and twirling behind the green haired boy.

Almost as soon as she was facing his back she surged forward with a haymaker (a standard move of Naruto's the blonde had helped her perfect).

It seemed the boy, around her age, was skilled in taijutsu, which didn't surprise her much. The boy had that sort of build about him, and his hands were rather bandaged for someone making a fashion statement.

It made her wonder if all ninja were proficient in taijutsu to some extent? She knew in Konoha it wasn't the most common specialty of the Shinobi.

The fight intensified and Kasumi was forced to block a series of punches and open palm strikes, while trying to return them with strikes and kicks of her own.

Unfortunately, she wasn't a taijutsu type, her skill lied in her clan jutsu, a few ninjutsu, and medical jutsu.

Her specialties were of course medic based and her clan own taijutsu skills, which were not quite like other taijutsu styles being a more feral style and usually needed the use of their ninkin partner.

Thinking of Mizumaru, Kasumi was happy to see the dog coming at Daichi from the side. In mid jump Daichi blocked one of her punches to his chest and jumped back just in time to avoid being plowed down by Mizumaru.

The dog was no longer as small as when they'd first become genin, and stood nearly to hip height on her, and she was about nearly 5'1.

Daichi sneered.

"Dumb mutt," he spat, and Mizumaru lowered his head and body to the ground as she growled and snarled at their opponent.

"Feh, don't call my dog a mutt," she said, gritting her teeth before calming down.

One common trait among the Inuzuka was their temper. And though only her father was an Inuzuka she'd taken mostly after her clan.

The quick temper was one of those traits. Over the years Mikoto-sensei had tried to impose the importance of having a clear mind in a fight, especially one that was life or death.

Anger could cloud ones judgment and it only took one mistake to loose your life.

"Futon: Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind)!" Daichi exclaimed, and Kasumi cursed, looked to Mizumaru and both ran to one side with every ounce of speed they could.

Kasumi groaned as she felt some of the fierce wind blades cut into her clothes and graze her skin.

Looking at Mizumaru she smirked and began her own counter technique, quickly storing away the fact her opponent had as much skill with wind jutsu as Naruto it seemed.

She was lucky he hadn't been closer to her when he'd done the technique or she might have been cut even worse and unable to avoid any of it. A direct hit might have even killed her.

"Jūjin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone)!" Kasumi called, this drew Daichi's attention and as soon as it was finished she called out her next technique.

"Gatsūga (Fang Passing Fang)!"

* * *

"I can't believe it," Naruto muttered, eyes wide.

Everyone stared down at the battle below, and were shocked to see Daichi get up from the Inuzuka attack.

Usually that was enough to take out someone of genin or low chūnin level, especially one who didn't know what to expect from an Inuzuka.

They were a powerful clan, and one of the main clans of Konoha for a reason after all.

"He's good with his affinity," Mikoto-sensei said, her eyes concentrating on the fight below.

Kasumi and Daichi were once again going at it with taijutsu, throwing jutsu out every now a then.

Mostly a Kawarimi, or shunshin, even a regular Bunshin on Daichi's part.

It was a show of skill in lower rank ninjutsu, and as seen before Daichi seemed to have some powerful ranked wind jutsu's in his arsenal.

"She can end this at any time if she can get close enough," Koji said, after analyzing the class of a wind jutsu against Kasumi's earth jutsu.

Naruto looked at him in confusion before her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Right, her medical jutsu," she said, remembering all the times Kasumi had beaten her in a some spars using the skills.

Even with her almost inhuman healing rate, Naruto could still be beaten as it took a few minutes for some wounds. Especially internal ones, like cut tendons or hit to her nervous system.

Mikoto smirked as she saw Kasumi readying a technique, one of her most used medical techniques, as Mizumaru latched onto Daichi in an attempt to keep him still for a few moments.

"Looks like she's ready to end it as well," she said and they watched as their teammate shot forward with glowing hands.

A Chakura no Mesu (Chakra scalpel).

Daichi was able to finally shake Mizumaru but not before he was hit in certain spots, cutting certain tendons in his ankle and arms that shut down his use of them until healed.

He fell onto his knees as Kasumi jumped back away from him, in case he tried anything – not that it was likely he could without complete use of his limbs.

Daichi growled and sighed.

"Daichi is unable to fight, Winner: Inuzuka Kasumi!"

Mikoto smiled, happy to see her last student pass into the next round. She was glad to see she was right about them being ready for this exam, and a possible promotion.

She'd already seen enough to consider them ready to be chūnin. She'd been hesitant a year ago, or before that, because Naruto was still so young.

She was around the same age as Itachi had been when he'd become a chūnin, actually a little younger as Itachi had become a chūnin at ten, not nearly nine.

This had worried her since she'd seen how estranged from life her son became as he was pushed by Fugaku and the clan to become the best. To live up to his place as heir and prodigy.

She'd tried her best to give her sons a stable environment and it was one reason she tried to keep Sasuke as innocent as she could.

Knowing her best friends child was so young, yet a very skilled kunoichi made her proud, and yet concerned her. So she tried to keep Naruto as close to normal interaction for a child her age as she could.

She wasn't one to believe a ninja had to do away with all emotion.

She believed that emotion was what made them human in the end, after all the things they had to do for the sake of their village and career.

Now, she was happy she'd decided to nominate them for these exams, and the chance of promotion. They definitely deserved it after near to three years of being genin.

"Great fight Kasumi-chan," Naruto said, patting her friend on the shoulder, and then placing her hand down to Mizumaru's level to pet her.

"Thanks," Kasumi said. "I almost thought I wouldn't be able to get close enough to him. He was pretty strong, especially seeing as he was able to use his wind chakra to take some of the force of my Gatsūga and stand after it."

"Looks like the next fight is beginning," Mikoto said, stepping up behind her students and putting comforting hands on Kasumi and Koji's shoulders, Naruto being between the two of the older genin.

She continued by saying, "You should see there skills so you can take into consideration how you'll do if or when you fight them yourself in the next round."

The three genin nodded and turned to the fight below.

It was between Ayane of Suna Vs Kiku of Kumo.

* * *

"Interesting," the Kazekage said, a small smile on his face. "Konoha has some powerful genin this year."

Those in the Kage booth nodded.

"Very. I am quite impressed with Uzumaki-Hime's team," the Wind Daimyo said. "Though I have to wonder why the Fire Daimyo hasn't said anything about the Uzumaki heir. Usually he likes to speak of the clan heirs of Konohagakure with reverence."

That was a polite way to say the Fire Daimyo was a bit on the arrogant side. Because Konoha was known to have the most unique and powerful of bloodlines and clans.

The Uchiha, Hyuuga, Yamanaka, Aburame, Nara, and two of those weren't even Bloodline clans but had Hiden Techniques that some might mistake as bloodlines.

Then there was the Senju which was all but gone, and the Uzumaki and Namikaze. Two families not native to Hi no Kuni but had settled there some time before.

Neither had a bloodline that was known, but some rumors of the Uzumaki having a hiden bloodline that didn't always activate was common.

Some thought their vitality, healing and large chakra pools was a bloodline, but in fact it was simply Uzumaki genetics and nothing more.

The Namikaze always had strong elemental affinities, some said that it was often times so strong one mistook it for a bloodline.

But it was not, simply the fact they had strong affinities, and trained in them often as Ninjutsu was usually what a Namikaze specialized in.

Namikaze Minato had not only been the last of his clan, but he'd been a bit of a black sheep as his specialty wasn't just Ninjutsu but Fuuinjutsu much like his wife.

One had to wonder if their daughter had the same skill. So far she'd shown a high skill in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and a budding skill in Kenjutsu.

"Yes, her teammates are very skilled as well. A Inuzuka and Uchiha. I also believe their sensei is the head of the Uchiha clan's wife; Uchiha Mikoto," Yashamaru said, adding his own two cents to the conversation.

Gaara himself was just happy to see his friends fight over and that she was alright. He didn't know what to think of Koji and Kasumi.

They were nice, a lot nicer than anyone he'd met in the village, but he didn't know what to call them. Acquaintances?

He didn't think friends was necessarily the right word seeing as they'd only seen each other and talked three or four times.

The Kazekage nodded.

"I believe the reason the Fire Daimyo didn't speak of the Yondaime's daughter was to do with keeping her safe. Namikaze Minato had a lot of enemies, as was seen with her fight with Kyo of Iwa. Sarutobi probably requested that her parentage be a SS-rank secret, maybe even to the Daimyo."

The Wind Daimyo seemed shocked at the conclusion, and blatant information withheld from one of his fellow Daimyo's.

Though it wasn't necessarily mandatory that something of this nature be reported to the Daimyo, as the Daimyo normally didn't interfere with Hidden Village business. It was the reason for the Kages to begin with.

"I see," he said, "Well, I look forward to seeing how she and her teammates progress from here."

* * *

It was nearly thirty minutes before the fights ended.

After Ayane and Kiku there were four more fights.

_**Shin of Kumo Vs Natsuki of Kiri. **_

_**Tsukiko of Kumo Vs Makoto of Iwa. **_

_**Akira of Suna Vs Hina of Suna. **_

_**Nobu of Kumo Vs Ichirou of Suna. **_

All were interesting fights. Once they had ended the Proctor stood in the ring and spoke loudly to everyone gathered.

"Now that the first round has finished we can move on," he began. "Usually we would continue today, but it is getting late and it's been decided to change things up this year. We will have a four week interlude until the second round of the tournament. This is for you to improve on your skills and take some time to rest before the end of the exams."

"Are the rules the same?" Yoko of Iwa asked, her gaze looking from the proctor to all the genin remaining.

Her eyes seemed to linger on Team Mikoto, though they didn't really show more contempt for one member over the other.

This led Koji, who had caught the look, to believe that she wasn't as bent on revenge against the Yondaime's daughter as Kyo had been.

"Yes. The rules remain the same. Now, the board will show the fights and what order they'll be in for the second round," he replied and pointed up to the electric board which gained six slots for names and the names began to rolls by.

Soon they all stopped.

The line up for the second round turned out as;

**Aburame Hoshi Vs Nobu of Kumo. **

**Uzumaki Naruto Vs Natsuki of Kiri. **

**Haruka of Suna Vs Tsukiko of Kumo. **

**Inuzuka Kasumi Vs Yoko of Iwa. **

This fight seemed to please Yoko, which made Team Mikoto nervous, not only because she seemed to be to excited about fighting one of them, but she looked familiar.

Yet they knew they hadn't seen her until her fight in the first round.

**Ayane of Suna Vs Uchiha Koji.**

And finally, **Nobu of Kumo Vs Hina of Suna. **

* * *

Once they were dismissed by the Proctor, Team Mikoto began to leave – though Mikoto had left ahead to meet with the other jōnin sensei's. It was when they were leaving the Academy itself that they ran into the Kazekage, Wind Daimyo, Yashamaru and Gaara.

Naruto blushed slightly as she realized she'd bumped into Gaara, knocking them both down. Though Gaara's fall seemed to be cushioned slightly by his sand.

"I'm sorry Gaara-kun, I wasn't looking where I was going, again," she said, quickly standing and offering her hand to the slightly wide eyed boy.

Gaara was slowly getting used to the fact his sand didn't automatically stop Naruto from touching him, or in this case knocking into him. But it was still a surprise, and he winced as Shukaku laughed crazily in his head.

Looking at her offered hand he slowly rose his to take it and allowed her to help him stand again.

Yashamaru had known of this before, and wasn't all that shocked, but his father. Looking over at his father's face he saw the surprise at the fact someone had gotten passed his sand defense.

Not even his father could do that most times, not anymore anyways.

"It's alright, Naruto," he said lowly, his bear caught in a tight grip at his side by his right hand.

He didn't know why but for some reason his bear, which had always been a security blanket of sorts and the only companion that couldn't fear him or hate him, made him embarrassed when around Naruto.

He didn't understand why, he'd never cared before.

"Ah, young Gaara-sama, you know Uzumaki-Hime I seem," the Wind Daimyo said, smiling. "Tamaki, you didn't say anything about your son being friends with the Hime."

Naruto blushed faintly in embarrassment and realized her parentage had been revealed by Kyo. She couldn't help but wonder how the Hokage would handle that.

Sabaku Tamaki, Yondaime Kazekage, blinked and shook his head, "I wasn't aware they had met before now. Hello Uzumaki-Hime, I am Gaara's father and Yondaime Kazekage."

Naruto bowed politely to them, and smiled lightly.

"It's nice to meet you, Kazekage-sama," she said. "Please, just Naruto is fine."

"Hello Kazekage-sama, Daimyo-sama," Kasumi said, following her friends example and bowing politely. "I'm Inuzuka Kasumi and this is my ninkin, Mizumaru."

Koji bowed politely as well, and said, "I'm Uchiha Koji."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you and your team," the Daimyo said. "Where were you headed, if I may ask."

"We were headed to get some dango," Kasumi answered.

Naruto smiled, and turned to Gaara.

"Do you want to join us Gaara?" she asked. "We can talk, we haven't had much time lately."

Gaara blinked, and slowly his mouth quirked up into a small almost hesitant smile.

"If it's okay," he said, and looked from Kasumi and Koji to his uncle and father.

Yashamaru nodded almost instantly and his father looked at him with a almost surprised look in his eyes.

He supposed his father wasn't used to him showing any form of emotion other than bloodlust, sadness, and loneliness.

"Go ahead Gaara, you can return home later today," he said and the three adults left seconds later.

"Come on Gaara," Naruto said, reaching over and linking her elbow with his, surprising the redhead. "I'm starving!"

Her exclamation was followed by a growling sound of her stomach. Laughing lightly at their younger teammate the group left together.

* * *

Naruto wasn't unaware of the weary looks, whispers and glares she and Gaara received as she walked with him towards the home he shared with his uncle.

After eating at the local place that sold sand dango Kasumi and Koji had decided to return to their hotel room for the day.

She didn't question it, she had wanted to spend more time with Gaara anyway.

She did notice look that passed through Koji's eyes before he left with Kasumi, shaking his head as if to shake a thought from his head.

She noticed he'd given her those looks on several occasions, and they seemed familiar to her but she usually dismissed it.

Things between her and Koji had always been rather... unexplainable for a lack of better term.

She digressed though.

She felt connected and drawn to Gaara for some reason. Like there was something about him she should recognize, and it was on the tip of her mind but it just wouldn't click.

"You're the Kazekage's son," she said, trying to start a conversation as to distract her friend from the hurtful words and looks thrown towards them – or more him.

Gaara looked at her and nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I don't see him a lot anymore. You're the daughter of the Hokage?"

Naruto bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.

"Yeah, but that wasn't common knowledge until now. My father died nearly nine years ago after my birth, and I didn't even know until two years ago, nearly three."

"Sorry," he said softly, almost like he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. "And your mother?"

"Dead as well, I think she died after having me."

Naruto noticed how Gaara stiffened and tilted her head curiously.

"Oh..." was all he said, but after a minute he looked at her with a look of understanding. So unusual for his usually unsure and apathetic teal eyes. "Mine died having me as well."

It was said sadly, and Naruto reached down to wrap her hand gently around his. She usually wasn't someone to like being touched or to touch others a lot. With Gaara she didn't have that same hesitance.

"I'm sure she loved you," she said in almost a whisper as they came to a stop outside the boys home. "So, I'll see you around. I have to train but maybe you could help me with that sometimes, so we could spend time together."

Gaara looked at her blankly for a moment and then smiled, the widest smile she'd ever seen on him. His eyes also had more emotion in them than she'd ever seen and couldn't help but grin back.

He nodded, and she hesitantly took her hand from his and watched as he entered the home. Waving goodbye, she turned once the door had shut and headed quickly back to the hotel.

The sun was setting already, she realized as she jogged off to the hotel.

* * *

Four weeks passed by quickly, and on August 7th Team Mikoto headed back to the arena which had been cleaned up in the last month.

"Welcome back," the Proctor said, looking at them all in a board manner. "As you all know this is the end of the exams. There will be two rounds. You already know who you'll fight in the first, and the second will be determined later."

Looking around at them the Proctor spoke again, "Will Aburame Hoshi and Nobu of Kumo come down here to fight?"

The two genin were quick to enter the arena and the Proctor began the battle.

Just like that the final part of the Chūnin Exams began.


	15. Tournaments: Chūnin Exams End VIII

**AN: So, I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews before anything else. **

**There is one more chapter of the Chunin Arc left and then back to Konoha for more drama. **

**Before long, about five or six chapters (though that is just an educated guess on my part) we'll be into canon and see Naruto as a second sensei for Team Seven along with Kakashi. **

**I wanted to end the exams with this chapter, but it got so long I decided to split it into two... and I needed time to decide how to end Naruto's fight with Yoko. brutal defeat or the death of Yoko. **

**I am leaning towards the former because of Yoko's character, as you'll see during this chapter. **

**Also, I don't have time to go over the chapter more than once for errors right now, so tonight I'll go back over it and fix any mistakes I find. **

**Now, please enjoy the chapter, and I'll have the next one up as soon as I can.**

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 14: Tournaments: Chūnin Exams End VIII. **

It was almost a shock that Hoshi's opponent had won their fight.

Within six minutes Nobu of Kumo had defeated Hoshi with a well placed strategy and a strong lightning jutsu.

Mikoto had taken the time to explain to her surprised students that like bloodlines, the Aburame's abilities – while not a bloodline – were a double edged sword.

They didn't have quite the ability with ninjutsu as other shinobi because they shared their bodies with their bugs.

Though they still could and rarely there was a few in the clan who were more adept with ninjutsu than some other shinobi not of the clan.

Some began to rely too much on the fact their bugs could suck away their enemies chakra, yet there were ways to counter this.

She herself could think of a dozen right off the top of her head. Nobu had used a rather simple, yet effective distraction technique and then appeared behind Hoshi and knocked her out with blunt force to the back of her head.

It seemed too easy.

It just led them to believe they'd have to watch out for Nobu, he apparently wasn't a push over.

The second fight was more exciting, but only just.

Natsuki of Kiri was a girl who was rather pretty, with spiky, short black hair (though it was obvious despite the short hairstyle she was a girl), pastel green eyes that lacked any pupils, pale skin, and appeared to be around thirteen.

Unfortunately of the genin left, Team Mikoto and Team 2 of Konoha had been the youngest that had survived the second phase of the exam.

Naruto of course wore her usual attire, her long hair tied into a loose ponytail at the nap of her neck.

Her usual hair clip that pulled one side of bangs from her face was missing and her hair fell naturally around her face, or at least what wasn't secured in her low ponytail.

Once the Proctor called the fight, it began.

"Suiton: Suiben (Water Release: Water Whip)!" Natsuki said, coming in closer.

Having trained with Uchiha since she was little, there was one thing besides speed one picked up, and that was being able to go through seals at a fast pace herself.

As the the water whip came towards her she had already finished the seals for her own jutsu.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique )!"

It might have been a C-Rank jutsu, but If one poured enough chakra into a technique, Naruto had learned that one could make it more powerful.

A C-Rank could become a A-Rank, though this commonly only worked with enough control.

Over the last few years she'd worked her butt off for better Chakra control. While she'd never be able to do genjutsu, she had fairly good control now. It was as good as she would get it without decades of work.

Add this to the fact training with a Uchiha meant you'd pick up a fire jutsu or two, meant Natsuki's water whip never reached her, and the girl had to moved or be consumed by a rather large fireball. Larger than a C-Rank jutsu should be.

Probably bumped up to B-rank, seeing as she hadn't wanted to kill the Kiri-nin, or waste chakra to make the fireball bigger than really needed.

After all, she could have dodged, but at the same time it was fire instant to counter a water jutsu with a fire jutsu if one knew a fire jutsu to counter with.

If that made any sense.

"So you don't just know wind jutsu," Natsuki said, narrowing her eyes.

Naruto fell into a stance, ready for anything the girl could throw at her.

"Wind is my main affinity, fire is just a side hobby," she snarked.

Natsuki smirked, and Naruto felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise up. With a small gasp she turned and gasped as a foot planted itself into her stomach, sending her back into the ground.

Behind her had been another Natsuki, a clone she realized.

But how... how had she gotten the clone behind her – much less created one without a large and close water source, or was the one who'd kicked her even a clone?

She wondered this as she stood quickly and parried a fist to her temple.

The two girls traded blows (during which she noticed three water bottles on the backside of her left hip, which explained her water source).

finally Naruto was able to force her kunai into the girls chest, which exploded into water.

It was as the water fell she realized her mistake, she'd taken her eyes off Natsuki and she was paying for it now.

"Ahhg," she groaned loudly, biting back a scream as the girls kunai found a place in her right side.

"Not so smart now, little girl," Natsuki taunted as she moved back and began going through hand seals. "By the way, you're not the only one with a side hobby."

Naruto stumbled back, hand going to the kunai that was sunk deeply into her side and she felt it.

Poison.

_Fuck_, she thought, pulling the kunai out. _'I have to end this now! I shouldn't have underestimated her.' _

Deep inside the seal, in a sewer confine that echoed her mind, large, slit-pupil, crimson eyes opened slowly.

* * *

"No," Kasumi muttered as the scene before her played out. "Naruto!"

She exclaimed, unsure what else to do for her friend. She couldn't believe the Kiri-nin had gotten the drop on Naruto.

She hadn't even noticed the girl's movements to well herself, and hadn't seen the girls water clone until it was already behind Naruto.

She barely noticed the girl while she watched the girl battle the water clone, but she hadn't seemed to be doing much besides standing there.

Koji snarled, his fist clinched and glaring down at the Kiri-nin had Naruto stumbled back, her face paling.

Slowly Naruto had removed the kunai from her side, and dropped it at her feet, breathing heavily. That in itself was strange, Naruto didn't get winded easily.

"A genjutsu," Mikoto-sensei said. "The girl is adapt in genjutsu, so much so it effects us slightly."

Koji shook his head.

"That's why we couldn't keep tabs on her too well, it's almost like being invisible for a amount of time. Naruto gets the full effect, but we get a near nonexistent version of it," he said, realizing what his sensei and clan head meant.

"Dammit," Kasumi near hissed, sounding strangely like a cat.

"There is one good thing about that wound of hers," Mikoto-sensei began, drawing surprised looks from her two students.

She smiled and continued, "She'll have been knocked out of the genjutsu's effects. The chances of her being drawn into another with that wound are slim to none. At least not by a genin."

Mikoto didn't mention the fact Naruto would probably be completely healed within five minutes or less.

For some reason though it looked like the wound was healing extremely slowly, and the way Naruto was acting so out of it led her to believe the kunai was poisoned.

_'Come on Naruto,'_ Mikoto thought, eyes narrowed slightly._ 'You can do this.' _

* * *

Within Naruto, with the sleepy Kyuubi, one of his large rabbit-like ears twitched.

"**My container... she is not as stupid as I feared,"** he muttered, tilting his head and yawning widely. **"But she is still a foolish human. Poison of this degree would have killed her within three to five minutes without me. If she didn't bleed out first." **

Smirking the Kyuubi allowed his chakra to leak out more, finishing what had slowly begun while he'd been sleeping.

"**Hmm, that should do it,"** he muttered, lowering his head back down and narrowing his eyes into slits. **"Now, back to sleep. Hopefully this stupid girl wont go and get herself killed." **

_**'Stupid Yondaime,'**_Kyuubi began thinking as he closed his eyes to rest again,_**'Sealing me into this flesh-bag. All there is to do is sleep.' **_

* * *

As much as she hated to admit it, the moment she felt the poison begin to recede some she knew she owed the giant fox in her gut for healing her. She had little doubt she'd be dead or half dead if not for him.

"Raiton: Kangekiha (Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration)!"

Naruto's eyes widened at this, knowing exactly what the jutsu did since she had been looking into her second lesser affinity which happened to be lightning for a while now.

"Naruto, below you!" she heard Koji yell and she looked down only to gasp.

Water. The water from the water clone, she'd been backed into a corner, so to say.

As the girls electrical current found the ground and traveled along it towards her and the water she stood in Naruto drew as much chakra as she could and jump straight up.

She sailed up, five feet, ten feet, fifteen feet. During this she began hand seals and gather as much chakra as she could.

She didn't know any lightning ninjutsu besides her lightning foxes and a few lower level ones – none that would work in her current situation. She knew no earth jutsu, nor did she know any water types.

Not that she would be too good with a water jutsu, she had trouble making them even work much less know any.

Not that matter much, most needed a water source within a few miles of the user location, Suna was in a desert, water affinities were basically nonexistent.

As were rivers or lacks for the most part.

Wind it was then.

"Fūton: Atsugai (Wind Release: Pressure Damage)!" The massive wind began to build, compress into a tornado-like build and as she began to descend to the ground she released it at the shocked Kiri-nin.

The Atsugai had been taught to her by Shisui and Itachi, who had seen it done and copied it with their Sharingan on a mission once.

Neither used wind often, and knowing she did they'd taught it too her. She suspected they thought she might be a wind type, seeing as wind jutsu had always been easier for her.

They had spent two months helping her with it, and it had taken her longer to get as much control of it as she needed to pull it off.

It still wasn't perfect but it was deadly enough. She'd have to completely master her wind element to pull it off to its full potential.

The fact she was even able to work a S-rank ninjutsu said a lot about her.

As she landed, feet in front of the water which still sparked slightly with the lightning jutsu, her winds had already caught Natsuki.

She was pushed back into the arena wall, the walls cracking and shattering, along with areas of the arena itself.

Natsuki also had some pretty deep looking cuts on her body. When the winds died, Natsuki fell from the human shaped crater in the wall and hit the ground face first.

She didn't move.

Breathing deeply, Naruto forced herself not to fall to one knee.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" the Proctor called. "Medics, you might want to get over here."

Naruto breathed deeply and made her way towards her friends.

Once there Kasumi grabbed her and began looking her over for wounds, her hands instantly going towards her bloody right side.

When Kasumi had pulled the cut fabric of her kimono-blouse aside she saw the fresh pink scar of her side where she'd finished healing, yet it was still tender and would probably be easy to rip open with too much movement or a hit.

"Good, you've pretty much healed," Kasumi said, and she made a sign and her hands began to glow with healing chakra. "I'll finish it up for you. Congratulations on winning though, and that jutsu. I don't think you've pulled it off that powerful before."

it was the jutsu that was used in her and Koji's combination attack but she'd never pooled that much chakra into it before when they did that.

This time she'd held little back, knowing she had to end the fight before it went on any longer. Nearly ten minutes was far too long.

"Thanks," she said. "That girls a genjutsu user, isn't she?"

"So you did notice," Koji said, smirking slightly. "For a moment I thought you were still unaware of that."

Naruto rolled her eyes.

"I caught on, but you know how bad I am at genjutsu," she said.

It was true, Koji had used a few to win spars against her.

"Naruto," Mikoto-sensei began, drawing the blondes attention to her. "That kunai, it was poisoned wasn't it?"

Koji and Kasumi both gasped quietly and looked at Naruto startled.

"Bu-but I couldn't find any poison in her body when I healed her!" Kasumi exclaimed.

Naruto smiled.

"_He_ burned it out of my system for me, I think," she muttered quietly.

Koji and Kasumi blinked and then nodded.

The Kyuubi being sealed in Naruto was a S-Rank secret that only the Hokage or Naruto herself could reveal without penalty of death hanging over them.

Almost a year after she'd found out she'd decided her teammates had a right to know that she was a Jinchuuriki.

At first it had caused a small rift between her and Kasumi, but after a day or two she'd come to Naruto and apologized for reacting badly. That it was a lot to take in, especially since she'd lost family in the Kyuubi attack like nearly everyone else.

Naruto had been relieved Kasumi still wanted to be her friend and didn't think of her as the Kyuubi himself.

Koji had taken it better. He'd been quiet for a while but eventually he'd smiled slightly and shrugged, saying it didn't matter. She was still Naruto to him.

The fact she had the Kyuubi sealed within her wasn't brought up commonly between Team Mikoto. Actually she could count the amount of times on one hand even now.

Taking into consideration all of this, Koji and Kasumi realized who _he_ was after a few seconds.

They nodded and turned back to the arena, realizing shortly that another fight had begun and ended during their conversation.

The fight they'd missed had been between Haruka of Suna and Tsukiko of Kumo. Tsukiko had won, but they'd only caught the end of the fight which ended with Haruka knocked out.

"Looks like it's your turn Kasumi," Naruto said, and Koji frowned and turned his attention to Yoko of Iwa who was heading down to the arena since it was her who was to fight Kasumi.

"Be careful Kasumi," he said, catching the girls arm gently as she walked passed. "There is something wrong about Yoko."

"Besides being from Iwa?" Kasumi muttered.

"I'm beginning to think all Iwa-nin are cracked mentally," Naruto said, sighing.

Mikoto-sensei snorted.

"They've just not moved on yet. You have to remember, grief makes people to do strange things. Sometimes it will break a person," she said, and than smiled encouragingly at Kasumi. "Do your best, Kasumi."

Kasumi nodded and she and Mizumaru headed down to the arena.

* * *

Kaiou Yoko had been a genin for two years now, along with her fraternal twin – Kaiou Yokina.

Both had lost family in the Third Shinobi War, but unlike many others neither girl felt the need to hate Konoha or the newly revealed daughter of the Yellow Flash of Konoha.

They were above such hatred. The whole sins of the father bullshit, and the twins had grown up with their remaining family. A cousin and his parents.

The Kaiou family was not considered a clan, having only a handful of members, and not all of them Shinobi. They were simply a family.

Yoko and Yokina's parents had been killed in the war, along with their grandfather, two uncles and aunt.

The only ones left were a cousin and his parents. Their cousins mother being their second cousin, so it wasn't exactly a close relation, but the only relation old enough to care for them.

Growing up the girls were always attached to each other, yet polar opposites.

Yokina, the older, was calm yet optimistic. She loved nearly everything and hated very little. She was sort of naive, or so some would say. They weren't identical twins, so it was a bit easy to tell them apart at most times.

They had near identical features, but almost enough differences they were easy enough to tell apart. Yoko had lighter skin than Yokina.

Yokina had sharper cheekbones and purple eyes while she had black eyes.

Yokina had grass green hair and she had lighter, sea-foam green hair in two short low ponytails.

Yokina kept her loose, except for part of it which she held back with a black bow in the back, the waist length locks falling loose otherwise.

Yoko had wanted to be a kunoichi since she was three years old, Yokina had wanted to be there for her younger sister. To protect her, and being a ninja was the only way to do so. Upon graduating they'd been put on separate teams.

Another large difference was that Yoko was much more vocal than her sister, short tempered at times yet calm as well. She could hold a grudge and didn't see the world with the optimism of her sister.

To add insult to injury she was said to be the perfect candidate for T & I, Torture and Interrogation because of sadistic streak.

It was actually Yoko's goal in life.

A few months before when Yokina had died on a C-Rank mission, a mission which should have been easy, Yoko had snapped.

She wasn't the same.

She trained and strove for power, she had striven to prove something – what she wasn't exactly sure.

She had begun to believe her twin sisters strength lived on through her, that her sister wasn't gone but with her, helping her to her goal.

She viewed the exams she was currently in, not as a promotion chance, but as a way of proving her worth. As a way of challenging herself. To test her strength.

If a few others died by her hand in the way to test herself, well it was their fault for not being stronger. They'd signed the waivers after all.

She was quickly gaining a name in Iwa as the Akuma no Iwagakure – or Devil of the Hidden Rock Village. Her apprenticeship into T & I made people that much more weary of her.

So, that brings us back to her current fight against a Konoha-nin.

Yoko had watched the remaining team from Konoha during the first round of the tournament, and she'd been impressed.

From what she'd seen they were the best in the exam, and she could only test herself truly against the best.

By defeating or even killing all of Team Seven she would sooth her broken soul and become one step closer to her goals in life.

Become feared even among T & I, and to find a way to bring her sister back. After all, she wasn't gone, not as long as she lived and proved that she could continue to gain power and best all those to challenge her.

"I hope you're ready," Yoko said, falling into a stance, her wakizashi raised and ready to attack.

Kasumi narrowed her eyes, grimacing at the gleam in the green haired girls eyes and unsettling grin. She wouldn't admit it but something about this girl made her instincts, instincts all Inuzuka had, go wild. Fight or Flight.

Pulling out a scroll from her side, Kasumi unsealed it and pulled out a hanbō, or half-staff. It was her weapon of choice other than the standard kunai and shuriken.

For the last year she'd been training in Hanbōjutsu, and while it wasn't common for an Inuzuka to learn something like how to fight with a staff, she'd been determined to break tradition as her sensei had suggested.

Her hanbō was of good quality, and about hip length. The thing about the hanbō many didn't realize that while it was just a staff, and wasn't by any means pointed like a spear might be, and had no blade on it, it could still be used against swords.

It was said with the proper training a hanbō could defeat any bladed weapon and Naruto had gone one step farther for her.

The staff she was currently using had been an early eleventh birthday present from her and Koji (Koji having bought the hanbō, as shops would sell things to him easier than to her, and the seals from her)

As alluded too, the staff was covered in seals. Seals which once she pushed her chakra into them would glow, allowing her to channel chakra through the staff, making it stronger not only with hits but durability as well.

The seals also allowed it to avoid any sort of damage by weather or age, those seals didn't exactly need the chakra to work. In reality none did, but pushing her chakra just gave the seals a boost while in battle.

The reason for these seals was because of the fact some blades might be strong enough to cut the staff in half. Naruto had done it once when she'd been using Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri.

Even a regular kunai could do the job with wind chakra channeled through it – even though the chances of the kunai being destroyed because it wasn't a chakra metal was very, very high.

She doubted Yoko would know anything about seals or elemental affinity manipulation though. From the fights she had seen the greenette had been focused on Kenjutsu and Genjutsu.

Her taijutsu was fairly good, but in a purely taijutsu fight Kasumi was pretty sure any of her teammates, including her, could beat Yoko within six or so minutes. If not less.

For Kasumi, despite not having a wind affinity, she'd been working on a way to channel her medical jutsu through the staff, more specificity, the Chakura no Mesu.

This would allow her to not only have a longer range but given time maybe pushed enough chakra into the technique – possibly with the help of seals if she asked Naruto about it – to do fatal damage.

"Like that piece of wood will help you," she barely heard Yoko muttered.

As burgundy eyes met black the two charged one another.

* * *

The fight had many on the edge of their seats.

At first it seemed Kasumi held her own against Yoko and the blade she wielded. Kasumi used her hanbō very well, but it was easy to see Yoko had more experience using a specialized weapon such as her wakizashi.

Mizumaru attacked from the sides, and worked with Kasumi by causing distractions so that Kasumi could attempt to end the fight. Unfortunately it proved to be difficult. Yoko faught like a demon, and she was focused. She didn't taunt much, and she hadn't monologued once.

Usually taunting and monologue-ing seemed to be half of a fight, Koji and Naruto's fights in the first round proved this, and yet Yoko seemed intent on proving something.

"Keh, you're not quite a good as your teammates, are you?" Yoko inquired after she'd broken through Kasumi's defense and slashed the girl in the side as the crimson haired girl jumped back.

Yoko chuckled as the girl's hand went to her side which ran bloody, a rather deep gash was her reward for failing to defend well enough.

Raising her wakizashi to her mouth, her pink tongue darted out and ran along the blade which had traces of the girls blood.

There were sounds of disgust from the crowed, and Kasumi grimaced while Mizumaru – who had run to her partners side – bore down and growled.

When she tongue returned to her mouth Kasumi could tell that fresh blood ran along the sword now, Yoko's blood. She'd cut her tongue on the blade, and she'd bet anything she'd done so on purpose.

_'this girl... she's not normal,'_ Kasumi thought and then turned to Mizumaru.

"Get ready girl, we have to end this before – "

Kasumi gasped as blood splashed onto her face, her eyes wide.

"Mizu...Mizumaru!" she gasped and fell to the ground, her hanbō fallen to the ground at her side.

Reaching out she hesitantly placed her hand on the white fur of her ninkin which was now stained in the dogs own blood.

There was a long, deep gash from the shoulder area below the neck down her her hind legs on her left side. The dog was whimpering, and laying still on her right side.

Yoko stood like a looming shadow above them, her sword at her side, stoically.

Looking up at the girl she asked, "Why? Why did you..."

"This is a fight, isn't it?" Yoko asked, tilting her head and grinning in a way that made Kasumi shiver. "It's nothing personal, I just wished to prove something. As I thought, you and your dog are not a worthy match for me."

Yoko looked at her for a moment more before shrugging.

"As for why? It is simple, without your partner you're much easier to defeat. And she was in my way."

_'She's...she's crazy,' _Kasumi thought with realization.

"I forfeit," Kasumi said loudly, and placed her hands over Mizumaru, her hands glowing with healing chakra.

The ability really wasn't as quick or effective on animals as it was on humans, but it would still work. It just took a little more time and chakra, but not much.

Unfortunately she wouldn't be able to heal it to the point it never happened. She wasn't a chakra powerhouse like Naruto, but she'd be able to stop her partner from dying.

"Winner: Yoko of Iwa!"

Kasumi watched with a glare at the green haired girl walked away, back to where the other genin where, though she noticed most if not all were looking weary or moving out of her way.

"Come on Mizu-chan," Kasumi said, sealing her Hanbō back and placing it in her pouch, standing and picking the ninkin up in her arms.

It was as she struggled to walk she remembered her own wound. Not only had she lost quite a bit of blood but she'd used most of her chakra to heal the deathly wound on Mizumaru.

_'Fuck!' _she thought and fell to one knee, placing Mizumaru down before she collapsed onto the ground on her front.

"KASUMI!" she heard yelled before everything went black.

* * *

Naruto and Koji watched in horror as their teammate collapsed.

They had known there would be powerful opponents in the exam, they knew that they were not invincible, but they hadn't expected such cruelty from another genin. They had known Yoko was strange, but not unstable.

To go after Mizumaru like that, and to not feel anything at the fact she could have killed the ninkin... it wasn't something the two really understood.

Not outside of missions where life and death was that much more real. They weren't naive, they knew as ninja their job was essentially to kill the enemy given the chance.

Sometimes they would even be expected to take assassination missions no matter what the case.

That was the life of a Shinobi.

But this was just an exam, death was a expectation especially in the second test but during the final test statistics showed no one usually died. Maimed at times, yes, but usually death wasn't a common occurrence.

Yoko hadn't seemed to care either way. She seemed to want to win, to challenge herself and that was all. Her words to Kasumi only served to anger Koji and Naruto.

"Kasumi will be fine," Mikoto said, snapping them from their angry thoughts. "She's a fighter, as is Mizumaru. The medics will take good care of them."

Naruto exhaled in relief yet her eyes never lightened from their narrowed, hard stare.

They followed Yoko as she came to a stop a few feet away, though she noticed not even those from Iwa stayed very close to her. It was if they were afraid of her.

Koji's anger was much more apparent than Naruto's, who was trying to stay calm so she wouldn't loose it and attack the girl. It wouldn't do to be disqualified. His eyes were no longer black but his Sharingan had been activated, unknown to him.

Uchiha glares were impressive, but to have a Uchiha angry at you and glaring with the Sharingan activated was known to have grown ninja pissing themselves – or at least the stories said. She'd never seen it happen despite being close to the clan.

"She'll pay for that," Koji said, the tone of his voice something Naruto had never heard from the usually laid back raven.

Narrowing her eyes, and frowning, Naruto nodded.

"She will," she said, placing a calming hand on her friends shoulder. "I promise."

She didn't realize how much that promise would come back to bite her in the ass.

"The next fight is being called," Mikoto-sensei said, ignoring the words exchanged between her students.

She didn't approve of going into a fight with intent to make someone pay, but even she had to admit the girl from Iwa had it coming.

She wouldn't lower herself to that level, she was no child or teenager, but her students, while being ninja, were still children and had that right.

She just hoped it wouldn't get out of hand, revenge of this sort never solved anything.

_Ayane of Suna Vs Uchiha Koji._

* * *

Ayane of Suna was a girl who was good in utilizing her chakra into chakra strings, yet she was not a puppeteer.

This wasn't exactly common nor uncommon for Suna, and was actually a advantage for their shinobi. Being able to use chakra strings so competently.

Yet Ayane had the worse opponent possible, and unfortunately for her he was still relatively emotional and pissed over what happened to Kasumi.

To burn some frustration he resorted to not wasting time and using his Sharingan right off. He hardly gave the lilac haired girl – a strange hair color but not as strange as some he'd seen recently – any time to prepare.

The girl somehow was able to use chakra strings to make cuts, usually they weren't powerful enough to be deadly or make cuts but she'd found a way.

Probably by willing her chakra to become sharp, similar to wind chakra. Or maybe she was a wind type, Koji didn't know and he didn't care.

Though he was bleeding from the cuts he'd gotten from the strings he couldn't evade, Koji had been using his speed, Sharingan and ability with Shunshin to his advantage.

"Sorry about this," Ayane heard the Uchiha say before he disappeared from his charge at her and with wide eyes she looked around her.

She saw him appear, via Shunshin, too late and was knocked unconscious by a knife strike to the back of her neck. Part of her was relieved for that, she'd taken a bit of a beating (though she'd given as good as she got) in the five minutes they'd been fighting.

"Winner: Uchiha Koji!"

"He really wasn't playing around was he?" Naruto questioned mostly to herself.

"He needed to work out some of his anger," Mikoto-sensei said. "You and Kasumi are his best friends you know, he's very protective of you both."

Naruto smiled, and nodded as Koji headed towards them at a calm pace, his eyes once again a dark gray that was nearly black.

There was a small quirk of his lips, but it was gone almost as soon as it was seen. She knew he was still frustrated and angry about Kasumi and Mizumaru, both of which were taken to the Hospital by the medics.

She didn't blame him, she was too. Kasumi and she hadn't been friends as long as she and Koji had, but she was like an older sister figure at times and a great friend.

"I just want this exam over already," Koji said, startling Naruto though she agreed with him.

It was great up until the psycho's came out – though it seemed Kyo at least had some sense beaten into him. Naruto had doubts anything could be done for Yoko.

"I want to see Kasumi, make sure she's alright," he finished, and Naruto frowned, nodding.

"I do too," she said. "Hopefully it'll end soon."

"Lets make a promise," Koji began, looking at her with a smile. "If we are put against each other in the next round... we'll put on a short fight and then forfeit."

Naruto laughed.

"Sounds like a great prank..." Naruto trailed off. In a way it was sort of like a prank, just not a expected prank idea. "I like it. Promise."

Mikoto smiled at her two students, and couldn't help but agree with them. She too wanted to check on her student but she also didn't want to leave until the end of the fights.

Either one of her students could be pitted against Yoko, and she like them, realized just how unstable the sea foam green haired Iwa-nin was.

She didn't know what had happened to her, but if she was this far gone it must have been traumatic.

She had a feeling it must have been connected to a death of someone close, she'd seen this sort of insanity before. In Uchiha's and Ninja forced to face the death of a parent, sibling. lover or close friend.

But they had a way of helping these cases because of the Yamanaka clan who while worked with T & I a lot, also did therapy on the Hokage's request.

The Yamanaka wasn't a large clan unlike the Hyuuga or Uchiha, and some of the civilians of the clan had actually begun a career as a therapy for Shinobi and Civilian alike.

Nonetheless she was proud of them.

They had made it this far, and showed they were ready for a promotion, even if they did choose to only show a intent spar between teammates/best friends if they faced one another and not attempt to win for the sake of proving one better than the other.

That unfortunately did happen in some teams, even in Konoha.

"Oh no," she heard Koji mutter and she looked up from her thoughts.

Her onyx eyes widened when she saw the names on the board for the first fight of the final round (and she realized she had no idea the last round had ended or who had won).

_**Uzumaki Naruto Vs Yoko of Iwa.**_


	16. Tournaments: Chūnin Exams End IX

**AN: So, the last chapter of the ************Chūnin** Arc. Next chapter we go into the Nightmare Arc.

**The Nightmare Arc involves the return to Konoha, the Uchiha Massacre, Yashamaru's bytrayl and Gaara's decent into insanity, along with the aftermath of it all for the two Jinchurriki. **

**Though, of course it'll focus mostly on Naruto. **

**As for this chapter, well, you'll have to read and find out. I will say it has some twist even I didn't see until I wrote them. Made me wonder why I hadn't thought of it before. **

**Now someone mentioned Naruto not being the type to use Kyuubi's chakra as much as canon!Naruto. This is true, Naruto won't be using Kyuubi's chakra much, unless she has no choice. **

**but eventually as the story goes on she'll have no choice, like when Akatsuki start making a move for the Biju. Which is the time when she'll begin to learn control of her Biju chakra. **

**Before then, she wont really use it much, and once her Bloodline is awakened in a few chapters she'll have an advantage and option other than using Kyuubi's chakra. **

**Though her bloodline sort of relates back to the Biju as will be explained later in the story, and is one of the Uzumaki most safe gaurded secrets. **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chūnin Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 15: Tournaments: Chūnin Exams End ****IX****.**

Koji felt as if someone had sat a block of ice in his gut, and stopped it from melting completely.

His best friend, the one he was closest too, was going to face the same kunoichi who had put Kasumi and Mizumaru into the hospital. This in itself made him weary of any of them facing the greenette in the finals.

"You..." he stopped himself, knowing that she wouldn't forfeit before even trying. Sighing, he continued, "Be careful, Naru-chan."

Naruto took a deep breath, looked at the raven haired boy and smiled.

"I will," she said, and then jumped over the railing and into the arena.

Koji snorted, shaking his head.

"So dramatic at times," he said and Mikoto chuckled from where she stood.

* * *

Yoko felt a wave of joy as she walked down to the arena, and stood across from the long haired blonde.

The Yondaime's legacy, the heir of two clans. To defeat her would prove everything, and she'd be one step closer to the goals in her existence.

Naruto glared at the green haired girl, trying to figure out what she would do next.

She was confident in her skills, she'd come a long way in the years since she'd become a genin, or even before that when she was in the Academy.

But Yoko was still a bit of a puzzle, she had shown mostly kenjutsu skills during the exam.

What little taijutsu she showed wasn't as strong as hers, Koji's, or even Kasumi's if it were a pure taijutsu battle and Yoko wasn't just a few shuriken short of being sane.

Naruto couldn't recall if the girl had used Ninjutsu, or even genjutsu for that matter.

"Why did you do that to Kasumi and Mizumaru?" she finally asked a moment after the Proctor called the match to begin.

"She was your friend I take it?" Yoko inquired, tilting her head slightly. "You have bonds to your teammates, as I suspected?"

Naruto stared at Yoko in shock.

"Of course she is! Koji-kun, Kasumi-chan, Mizu-chan, Mikoto-sensei... they're like my family!" she exclaimed. "Don't you have that with your team?" she asked.

Yoko threw her head back and laughed, not a pleasant one either. This laugh sent shivers down many spines, and caused many to question the greenettes sanity.

"I suppose once I did have bonds, but you can hardly have bonds with dead people," she said sardonically. "Though, I use the term dead in the loosest sense. Yokina would never leave me alone. _Never_."

Naruto narrowed her eyes in confusion and realized soon after that she'd made a mistake. She'd given Yoko an opening by talking to her as if they weren't in a fight.

Closing her eyes she focused on one of the few ways to break a genjutsu, it only took a minute or two before she knew she had it, but by the time she'd opened her eyes Yoko's fist was already too close to dodge.

Her eyes widened as the force of the punch drove into her gut, and forced her to double over, seeing the kick coming towards her back she pushed past the shock of the blow and shunshined away from it.

Quickly she brought her right had up in front of her as she reappeared feet behind Yoko, wishing she could have saved this for if she faced Koji.

It was her newest creation, meant for her taijutsu, Raikou Kitsune or even the one she was currently working on that blended her family styles.

It was basically a Taijutsu move as it used little chakra, and had no hand signs. The good thing about it was with control even the little chakra it used could cause serious damage.

Unfortunately, while the technique was a lot easier to create than her lightning foxes and had only taken her around three months to master, though she had to learn to use senbons rather well otherwise it would have been pointless.

"Ryūjin no Hari (Needles of the Dragon God)," she called out, though not in a raised voice so she might get a surprise attack on Yoko.

Between the knuckles of her four fingers, that were curled into a fist, chakra formed into senbon like needles that were a soft blue color like most chakra, though hers seemed to have a ting of dark violet in it.

With a flick of her wrist the needles were released, unfortunately for her, Yoko had noticed where she was.

If it was by luck, or if Yoko had simply heard her words, Naruto didn't know. She wasn't exactly worried about it as she ran to one side to keep a distance between the two of them.

The three chakra needles seemed to shock Yoko, and though she was able to draw her wakizashi she could not block or attempt to block, and they sunk into three points on her body.

The area just below her navel, the area almost directly between her breast, and in her left shoulder.

Naruto wasn't aiming for pressure points in her attack, but because the needles were chakra, and foreign chakra at that, they would sting like a bitch.

Not to mention once they dissolved it would act similar to lightning and leave the area numb, though this is simply what happened when she'd developed it with Mikoto-sensei's help.

Mikoto-sensei being the one to show her how to use senbon without hurting herself.

If she had hit a pressure point it would be by pure luck as she hadn't taken the time to aim precisely, and pressure points weren't easy to hit at long range unless the target was relatively stationary.

Otherwise it would take a lot of a skill and practice. Skill and practice she didn't have yet.

"ahhg, you little..." Yoko exclaimed, stumbling back as the needles began to dissipate. "That hurt!"

Naruto began going through hand signs, her eyes narrowed.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" she called before Yoko could fully recover.

The greenette was caught in the winds and forced back, hitting one of the walls with force that almost cracked them.

Once the winds had gone, Naruto began to charge at Yoko, unsealing Hitokiri (feeling it was more appropriate for her fight against someone like Yoko) on her way. With her katana at her side she readied to pin the girl to the wall by driving Hitokiri through her shoulder.

_**CLASH!**_

_'She's good, really good'_ Naruto thought as her katana clashed with Yoko's own sword.

Jumping back the two engaged in a battle that was nearly to quick for many to see, at least those who were not ninja.

They could see slight sparks when the metal hit and hear the sounds of the swords, but otherwise it was eerily quiet.

Many couldn't even detect the sound of their quiet footsteps.

* * *

Koji sighed as he watched Naruto use another shunshin to avoid having Yoko run her through with the wakizashi, and reappear on her left and slam her hand into a few pressure points which would leave Yoko's left arm useless.

"I wish she would end this fight already," he muttered, a bad feeling in his gut.

Mikoto sighed.

"I think she would if she got the opening. Yoko is far from a push over, Koji," she said.

Koji sighed, realizing just how right she was.

Yoko was skilled, if she wasn't so bat-shit crazy he would easily believe her to be a candidate for promotion. As it was Koji hoped the girl wasn't promoted, especially seeing as she was in need of serious help.

"Harikēn no sutoraiki (Hurricane Strike)!"

Koji's eyes widened as the girl made three clones, probably earth clones – the fact she could do it without full use of her left arm was amazing in itself - and swung her sword twice in a 'x' like shape.

Chakra flowed from them, into what he assumed would act as blades, heading straight towards Naruto.

"Naru!" Koji yelled in a startling display of concern – for an Uchiha that is.

Koji had to close his eyes as he saw her unable to dodge all of them, as it really looked like a hurricane of chakra made blades, and Naruto let out a short scream as she was forced back onto the ground.

His hand clinched at his side, his nails digging crescent shaped bloody holes into his palms.

Naruto was still on the ground when he opened his eyes seconds later, her clothes were even more torn than before, and bloody. Very bloody, he realized.

There was also strands of blonde hair on the ground, glinting in the sun, though her hair was still long, only an inch or two having been sheered off by the stray chakra blades.

Yoko wasted no time and seemed to inhale as she began to mold chakra.

It startled and concerned him that she only made a tiger seal, as if it was more to help her than to create a jutsu – the fact she could even use her left arm astounded him.

But that seal that was needed, it was only seconds before he realized what she was going to do. Tiger was a common seal for fire ninjutsu, there was almost always a tiger seal involved.

"Naruto, it's a fire jutsu, move!" he shouted, and he saw Naruto stiffen, and begin to rise.

He knew the deeper a wound and the quantity of them always factored into her healing factor.

His stomach seemed to plummet when he saw it was taking longer than usual. He realized then her wounds must be worst than he'd first thought.

"Katon: Gōka Messhitsu (Fire Release: Great fire Destruction)!"

Koji's eyes widened, as did Mikoto's own.

Fire jutsu's were not just Uchiha made, that was true. On the other hand, a fair few were made by the clan, most being created by Madara and Izuna, but there were many, many fire jutsu that were not.

That particular one was not, but it was a Konoha technique and most famous for being one of Uchiha Madara's favorite and most used jutsu's.

The fact a genin, one from Iwa no less, was able to use it was unbelievable. It should be impossible!

But the proof was in the flames that came from Yoko's mouth and the A-rank jutsu raced towards the now standing Naruto.

"_NARUTO!"_

* * *

Naruto gasped as the fire came at her, knowing she would be unable to get out of range in time despite her speed, especially when not all her wounds had healed yet.

That left Shunshin, but she doubted even that would work in time, and there wasn't anything to replace herself with so Kawarimi was out.

_'Am I going to die here?'_ she thought to herself as the flames were reflected in her wide blue eyes.

Kasumi flashed through her mind, and Mizumaru and how they'd been beaten by Yoko. How Mizumaru had been hurt near fatally and she still didn't know if Kasumi was alright.

Her precious people began to flash before her as the flames drew closer.

Hokage-jiji, Mikoto-sensei, Koji, Itachi, even Sasuke (as much as he annoyed her at times, he was her friend) and others of the Uchiha clan she knew.

The last person to appear was Shisui, who she'd thought of as an older brother before his death. Suddenly her eyes widened and she clinched her fist, rage flowing through her.

She was only aware of sound roaring in her ears as chakra flowed around her, and the flames reached her.

To her surprise she wasn't being burned, at least not badly, the red chakra which had appeared was... protecting her.

Red chakra? She thought, startled as she raised her hand to see the chakra which was actually visible around her.

It wasn't extremely strong as she expected, seeing as she came to a realization this was not her chakra, this was Kyuubi's.

_'He's protecting me?' _she thought, blinking, and then she shook her head.

Now was not the time!

She'd been standing as the flames engulfed her for nearly a full two minutes, she had to move,_ now!_

As she ran forward she grabbed her dropped katana, which was unharmed by the flames though was rather hot to the touch, and jumped.

As she exited the flames she realized her hair was flying around her, no longer held back by any restraint, and that the red chakra had receded almost completely.

The chakra around her was now her own blue and dark violet color, though the dark violet seemed to be the more prominent color at the time.

It was just a passing notice though, she was more focused on Yoko's wide eyes as she appeared out of the flames nearly unscathed.

Smirking, she shunshined behind Yoko and slashed her in the back, a deep wound appearing, and the green haired girl surging forward a few feet. Both to get away from her and in pain.

"HOW!" Yoko yelled, turning around with blazing eyes. "HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THAT!"

Naruto glared, flicking Hitokiri out to the side, blood still running along the surface of the blade.

"I'm a lot harder to kill than that," she said, "Ryūjin no Hari!"

She flicked three chakra needles three times in quick succession as she ran to the side.

While this distracted Yoko, she preformed a shunshin to appear at her side, kicking her in the chest and sending the Iwa kunoichi skidding back on the ground.

Picking herself up Yoko growled, clinching her fist. The girl was injured rather badly, the deep slash on her back still bleeding, and cuts from where the senbon like needles had pierced her.

Her left arm wasn't moving like it had in the beginning thanks to her pressure points attack earlier, and she probably had some bruising on her chest where Naruto's kick collided.

"I'll kill you," Yoko said, almost too calmly though the hate seeping into her voice was apparent to Naruto.

"Why? Because I'm beating you? It's just an exam, Yoko, what's the point?" she asked.

Yoko laughed.

"I don't care about the exam," she sneered. "I'm doing this to measure my skills, to prove something. What, i'm still not one hundred percent sure. What I do know is it will end with your death, Uzumaki."

Naruto gasped when the girl appeared in front of her and her fist collided with her solar plexus.

Coughing, Naruto was shocked to see blood come out with the spittle the shock of the blow had expelled. It wasn't a large amount, and she knew her body well enough to know it wasn't internal bleeding.

It must have been blood from those chakra blades she'd been hit with before.

Naruto groaned as the green haired girls knee made contact with her face, and she felt the bone in her nose crack and blood flow from it.

Stumbling back, Naruto was able to gain her bearings enough to slide her sword between her black obi and the tattered remains of her kimono blouse, and begin going on the defensive as Yoko attacked her with more taijutsu.

It wasn't a style exactly, it reminded Naruto a little of how she'd fought before she gained her family scrolls with her clan styles inside.

It was more effective than any of her teammates gave the girl credit for, but soon Naruto was able to gain the upper hand.

Spinning around, using mostly open-palmed strikes to divert and block blows from Yoko, she crouched low and struck the girl with a sort of open-palmed knife strike hybrid blow.

It hit just below the knee and took the girls leg out from under her as Naruto began to stand back up, and move her foot to kick the girl in the face.

Yoko grabbed onto her ankle and pulled, yanking her feet out from under her, and Naruto gasped as she landed hard on her back.

Yoko stood quickly and slammed her foot down on Naruto's chest, causing Naruto's eyes to widen and a short scream to echo from her.

"Now who is winning?" Yoko snarled, her eyes shinning with insane light.

"Still... not you," Naruto grunted out at the pressure on her chest left and was reapplied but with more force. "Ahhg!"

"That's enough, unless Uzumaki can continue to fight this match is over," the Proctor called and Naruto gritted her teeth.

She didn't want to loose to Yoko, but at the same time she was sort of in a bad position and unable to think of a way to get out of it.

Yoko pulled out her wakizashi.

"It's not over, until I say it's over," Yoko said, glaring at the Proctor. "DIE UZUMAKI!"

Naruto's breath left her as the blade came towards her neck, and she was finally able to get her leg up and kick the girl off with a foot to her gut.

As the girl flew back some, her blade missed, and Naruto came to her feet, pulled Hitokiri and made a run for Yoko.

Without thinking Hitokiri flashed and slid with a squelch sound through Yoko's flesh nearly exactly where her heart would be and out the back.

Realization came as she saw the blood running to the hilt of her katana and Yoko's black eyes widened. She moved her hand to her chest, blood running onto her pale hands as she did this.

"Huh, I guess you were right, I'm not winning after all," she muttered, coughing and blood ran from her mouth.

It splattered, and spots of blood no bigger than lint appeared on Naruto's face.

Slowly Naruto began to move back, pulling her katana from the older girl. Choking up more blood Yoko looked at her, her eyes begging to glaze over, and moved closer. Naruto tried to move back, but fear stuck her to her spot.

Naruto's eyes widened as Yoko's bloody hand touched her forehead an then cheek.

"Thank you," Yoko said.

Her hand fell back to her side, and onto her knees before collapsing onto her front. Blood ran along the area under her and around her and her eyes stared at nothing.

Naruto knew then Yoko, the Akuma no Iwagakure (Devil of the Hidden Rock Village) was dead.

"Winner by death; Uzumaki Naruto!"

She didn't hear much else as she passed out, the last thing she recalled was the thump as her body hit the ground.

* * *

What a shame, he hadn't expected the Uzumaki girl to be so brutal.

Uchiha Madara, despite all the history books words, was very much alive.

His own secret to eternal youth one could say, though he would not admit to the fact he was not immortal. No, being immortal meant never dying even when mortally wounded.

He could still be killed, it just took a hell of a lot, it was easier to kill an Uzumaki than it was him from his experience and experimentation, and that was saying something considering Uzumaki's were a bitch to kill.

What with their ungodly healing factor, some had even called it the Uzumaki bloodline, but he knew better.

He'd overheard Mito talking of the true bloodline of the Uzumaki clan to her husband once, and that was only the bare basics.

Who knew there was a fourth Dōjutsu in the world?

Madara supposed he was one of the few who did, thankfully it was very, very unlikely Naruto – he had been observing the blonde Jinchuuriki long enough to know her name – would ever awaken the fabled bloodline.

From what Mito had told Hashirama, the Uzumaki bloodline was similar yet very different from the Sharingan, and there were said to be circumstances to awakening it. Most Uzumaki who did died in the process.

There was a reason for that, but she'd never specified much more than that.

But this was beside the point. Currently he stood on one of the walls of the stadium of the arena, under a genjutsu as to not be noticed. He'd been watching the exams, and his little... well he wasn't sure what to call Yoko.

Apprentice maybe? He had taught her a few things, though mostly he'd just driven her more into insanity by promises of revenge and power. Promises that she'd be able to have her sister back.

He snorted, if it was that easy he may not have fallen into darkness himself when Izuna was killed.

And despite what the clan believed, and the history books might say, he hadn't killed his brother. Nor had he stolen his eyes, Izuna being the bleeding heart he could be at times, had given him his eyes.

Madara had been truly angry at his brother for that, but Izuna was an Uchiha, trickery was one of their many games.

Being knocked out and having your brothers eyes given to you wasn't that hard to accomplish. Not for Izuna at least, so in all honesty he hadn't even realized until after the surgery.

But that was his distant past, a different Madara. A less crazy Madara... he shrugged. He'd have his revenge against Konoha, and his pet returned to him in due time.

At the same time he could humor Pain's ideals and use his little organization he formed and led, while Madara led from the shadows, to his own purposes.

He did enjoy a bit of chaos now and again.

In the end, Kaiou Yoko was a convenient pawn, so easily manipulated for his own purposes. The main purpose was to fight Uzumaki Naruto.

It was true he hadn't know if they'd be pitted against each other at all, but he'd trained her and had her team get through to this round for the soul purpose of proving herself.

Yoko hadn't even truly realized what her purpose was. She was much to unstable for that kind of clear thought.

In all honesty, the words she'd spoken moments before her death were the most clarity the girl had since her twin sister, Yokina, had died on a mission months before.

He could say he was impressed with the amount of skill Naruto had, but he'd expected the Jinchuuriki of his pet to be powerful.

It seemed she could even tap into the Kyuubi's chakra on some unconscious level as shown when she'd survived Yoko's fire jutsu.

He had been extremely impressed by that.

Not many could say they survived that jutsu, even if it was a genin – though Yoko could have easily been high chūnin, close to jōnin level since he'd trained her the last few months off and on himself – who'd used it.

Her skill in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were indeed astonishing for her age and rank, even if she didn't seem to know many, though the ones she did know were rather high ranked.

The fact she could create two original jutsu's herself – though he supposed her chakra needles were an unique case for a jutsu since it was not an element nor needed hand seals and seemed to be created for her taijutsu style – added to it.

She truly seemed to fit the bill for a prodigy.

Her Kenjutsu was probably her weakest skill besides genjutsu, and since her genjutsu was basically nonexistent that wasn't saying much. Not to say she was bad, she was quite good with her blades.

But of course, he had a feeling that her lack of skill wouldn't stay true in the coming years. She already had an understanding of standard Fuuinjutsu, and she was an Uzumaki, meaning Fuuinjutsu would come almost naturally to her.

Almost.

Kenjutsu would take time and practice, but she'd probably be as skilled as her mother one day. And he was truly expecting her to surpass her parents, and give him quite the fight when it came time to reclaim his pet.

He smirked, he didn't mind. He loved a good challenge.

* * *

Koji was outwardly nervous, fidgeting throughout the next fights. There were only a few genin left in the exam, counting him and Naruto, so he hoped this wouldn't last long.

Though Naruto he was worried about.

She had killed Yoko, though with good reason. The greenette seemed determined to kill her even when the Proctor was ready to call the match.

Naruto really didn't have a choice, but he'd heard the words, or more like read Yoko's lips to know what she'd told Naruto before she died.

_Thank you._

He didn't know why she said thank you, but he knew how that would mess with his best friend. Naruto had her insecurities.

She had her flaws, he knew from past fights how words could get to the blonde. Psychological warfare, though he didn't think Yoko had meant the words to have that sort of effect on Naruto.

He really believed Yoko was thankful to Naruto for killing her.

Why, he didn't know and he doubted he ever would.

The fight after Naruto's was between Nobu of Kumo and Tsukiko of Kumo. It was a fight that lasted no longer then six minutes, opposed to Naruto's which had lasted close to twenty – that was simply an estimate as he hadn't been concerned with timing it.

Nobu won, and Koji was called to fight him.

He could go into the fight, for every detail, but truth be told it was a bit of a blur. Nobu was good, Koji would not deny that.

The boy had managed to get hits on him, even with his Sharingan activated, but Koji was like a man on a mission.

That mission was to finish this exam and go check on his hurt teammates.

Within ten minutes, again he hadn't timed it, that was simply an estimate, the fight was over, and he had Nobu on the ground with his own weapon against him – which turned out was a tantō (basically a short sword, not much longer than a dagger).

The tantō was pointed against his jugular vein, Koji glaring darkly at him with his Sharingan eyes.

The message was clear to Nobu. One deep cut and it would probably be over for Nobu, he doubted the medics would get there fast enough.

Nobu did the smart thing, he forfeited.

A few minutes later the Proctor was talking to a medic and the Kazekage.

"Attention," the Kazekage called, drawing everyone's attention. "There was supposed to be one more fight, to determine the winner, but since the other genin is in no shape to fight we've come to a decision. A never before seen decision. Since Uzumaki Naruto can not fight, she and Uchiha Koji will share the victory as joint winners of the Chūnin Exams."

Koji blinked in shock, expecting either it to be postponed a few hours or for him to be declared the winner by default.

As everyone began to cheer and clap in agreement to the decision Koji smiled lightly. Naruto would definitely like the outcome, and they hadn't wanted to fight each other anyways.

They had trained together since before they'd been genin, they were pretty much on equal ground, assuming Naruto wasn't using Kyuubi chakra.

Of course, she never did. When she'd survived Yoko's fire jutsu was the first time he'd seen or felt a manifestation of the fox demons chakra.

Even then it had only been noticeable for barely more than two minutes, and he was sure it hadn't been intentional since she didn't even know how to call on it to that extent, or at all to his knowledge.

"Come on, Koji," Mikoto-sensei said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go see Kasumi, Mizumaru, and Naruto."

Koji smiled, and nodded and the two left quickly for the Hospital.

* * *

Gaara had been an emotional rollercoaster during Naruto's battle against Yoko, and it showed with how erratic his behavior seemed to be as the fight intensified.

The fact his sand was acting on its own, flaring up as if it wanted to jump down and strangle the one who dared hurt his first friend.

His _only_ friend.

The presence of his father and Yashamaru's hand on his shoulder stopped this from happening. He had been relieved and maybe a bit happy when Naruto had won the fight, killing Yoko in the process.

Though he hadn't thought on it much, her killing Yoko and how that made him feel, seeing as Shukaku was more than happy for both of them.

He still had a headache from it as he stood beside her bed in the Hospital.

He hadn't stayed to watch the last fights, he'd been too worried – an emotion he was far from used to experiencing.

The surprise on his father's face that he wanted to leave and see Naruto was almost enough to make him laugh.

Almost being the key word.

It was about fifteen minutes before Naruto made a move, and than it was just a twitch of her hand. As he sat there watching he was relieved when her bright blue eyes opened.

"Ga-Gaara?" she asked, hoarsely.

She'd been cleaned up by the doctors. And she now had bandages around injuries not fully healed, and wore a white hospital gown.

Her hair still completely loose, and tinted more red than normal from the blood they couldn't get out. She'd have to do that herself once recovered to leave.

"Naruto," he said, and smiled in a barely noticeable manner.

Naruto blinked and smiled, sitting up with only slight trouble.

"I guess the exams are over?" she said more than asked.

Gaara shrugged, and he turned his head when he heard others enter.

"It is," a familiar male voice said. "Only a minute or so ago, though. The Kazekage announced the both of us the winners of the tournament. First time it's ever happen, apparently. At least in recorded history."

Koji, he realized, and the woman who resembled Koji – probably a clan relative – must be Naruto's sensei, Mikoto-sensei was what the blonde called her.

"Cool," Naruto said, grinning. "I'm glad we didn't have to fight, kind of pointless since we fight all the time when we train."

Koji nodded, chuckling.

Looking between Gaara, who sat quietly as always, his pupil-less sea foam colored eyes not particularly staring at anyone but seemed to focus the most on Naruto, and Naruto herself.

He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't kind of jealous of the time she'd been spending with the redhead, but he realized it was good for her to make friends with more than him, Kasumi and his clan.

After a few minutes of talking with his mostly recovered teammate (The doctor had come in a few minutes after they arrived, and said Naruto would be able to leave the next afternoon) he and Mikoto left to check on Kasumi and Mizumaru who were in the room over from Naruto's.

Gaara watched them go passively, and sighed.

"I'm glad you won your fight," he said, trying to find a way to start a conversation.

He'd been learning a bit about this sort of thing, talking and social manners, since he'd met Naruto. But it was still a hard subject for him to grasp a lot of the time.

Naruto smiled.

"Yeah. So, when I get out tomorrow do you want to go play at the park we met?" she asked. "We've no really had time to since before the exam started."

Gaara blinked and nodded.

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed.

The talked for nearly two more hours, or more like, Naruto did most of the talking. Then, close to sundown, Yashamaru came to collect Gaara.

As the two said their goodbyes, Naruto laid back and thought of what lied ahead of her with the Chūnin Exams over and how her experiences in it would change her.


	17. The Return

**AN: So the beginning of a new arc in the story. **

**This chapter is rather short, but the next will be a bit longer. I want to thank those who have reviewed and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Unfortunately there wont be much of Gaara for a few chapters after this.**

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 16: The Return. **

It took Kasumi and Mizumaru about a week after the end of the Chūnin Exams to recover.

Even now they were still rather...exhausted would be the best word for it. But they had been seriously hurt, and lost a lot of blood.

Naruto on the other hand was out of the Hospital the next day.

Her Uzumaki healing and Kyuubi healing helping the doctors along, and allowing her heal what should have taken close to a week in only a day and half.

She kept her promise to Gaara, and spent the last few days she'd be in Suna with him, and the time she wasn't with him he visited Kasumi, Mizumaru and stayed with Koji.

Koji had taken Kasumi's injuries hard, and Naruto knew it was because of his growing feelings for the crimson haired girl.

For some reason the feeling she usually got in her chest when she thought of Koji and the way she'd caught him staring at Kasumi before didn't feel so bad.

She supposed the best word for it would be Jealousy, and yet it had begun to get to the point where she didn't feel it anymore. Don't get her wrong, it was still there but it was much less apparent.

She actually began thinking of the many ways Kasumi and Koji would be good for once another. Though they were all young, in the Shinobi world age wasn't much more than a number.

She herself didn't think much on the subject of romance, and she had enough trouble with her confusing emotions for Koji to even think of exploring it.

She was only eight, turning nine in two months.

But Kasumi and Koji were a bit older than her, by two years. In a few years maybe she could help them in the right direction, Kami knows they were too stubborn for their own good.

That was all beside the point, she actually found her thoughts more focused around her new redheaded friend.

Gaara had a long way to go before he understood to much about emotions, and what it was like to have a friend. Hell, she recalled when she'd had the same problem.

She couldn't get over how similar their childhoods seemed to be, yet she didn't understand why he was treated so poorly by his village and why his father didn't seem to care.

It was the day before she left that she finally had enough of the glares they'd face, or more like he'd face, when they were seen together.

One person had actually had the gale to warn her that she should leave the demon be before he turned on her.

She'd had fun scaring the poor civilian with as much killing intent as she could muster, something not as easily done as one might think.

Many people had to work many months or years to get a killing intent that actually felt like killing intent to be blunt.

Thankfully she'd felt enough killing intent she had developed a fairly potent one in the last few years.

"Gaara... why does everyone always glare at you?" she asked, looking over at Gaara who sat on the swing next to hers.

She felt bad for asking when he stiffened and she could see every barrier she'd slowly been getting through come back up.

"They... they just do," he said.

Gaara was actually terrified. An emotion he'd never really felt like he was feeling it now.

He was afraid to tell her the truth, she wasn't from Suna, she didn't know what he truly was so she had no reason to hate him. If she knew of Shukaku she'd run away too.

He had to keep it from her, he couldn't handle it if she left him alone again. He knew she'd be leaving soon, back to Konoha but if she had said she'd write and visit if she could.

Even the distance wouldn't stop the fact they were friends, yet if she left hating him because of Shukaku he would be utterly alone again.

"My mother died having me... they think I'm a demon – I guess," he said slowly, and it was true.

They did think him a demon, and his mother had died in childbirth.

Looking over at Naruto cautiously he sighed in relief at the fact she seemed to believe it, yet at the same time he saw the tiny hint of disbelief. As if she could tell there was something he wasn't telling her.

Mostly he saw understanding.

"I understand, the pain of being lonely. I'm an orphan, before I met Koji I was alone. I didn't understand why everyone disliked me either, they looked at me with the same eyes."

He saw her face darken, and her eyes narrow in a fox-like way.

"Like I didn't deserve my existence."

Gaara's eyes widened slightly.

"Existence?" he muttered, almost in a questioning manner.

Naruto's head snapped up and over to him and slowly her eyes brightened, and she grinned happily.

"But I showed them, I've found the reason for my existence! I found a place to belong, and one day I'll have their respect, and their acknowledgment that I do exist," she said.

Gaara blinked, and smiled slightly. Naruto was like him in more ways then he could believe, but at the same time she'd done what he couldn't.

She'd begun to prove her right to exist, and yet he wondered what she could have done for her village to dislike her like his disliked him.

'Our existence... is similar,' he thought slowly. 'I will find my reason for existing as well, Naru.'

For some reason as he looked over at the blonde he couldn't help but think he might have already found it.

But of course, being nine he wasn't sure what it meant, exactly. He just knew she was his best friend.

* * *

Three days later Naruto, Koji, and Kasumi arrived back in Konoha wearing their new chūnin vest.

They were three of five to be promoted, the other two both being from team two, but that didn't mater.

It was unusual for a entire team to be promoted but for the first time in about ten years they had done just that.

It was almost a given that Koji and Naruto became chūnin, though just because they'd won the exams wasn't enough to ensure they made chūnin.

It took more than that, but eight times out of ten the winner did get promoted. Kasumi, despite not winning against Yoko, had shown what it took to be a chūnin and that was enough for her to be promoted.

Mikoto couldn't be more proud of her team, and was hopeful she'd get to work with her team more in the future.

Her recall was supposed to be over once her genin team made chūnin, unless she wanted to remain on the active shinobi listing, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go back to the way things had been before Team Seven.

Fugaku probably wouldn't make a fuss any longer, he'd long gotten over the fact his wife was back on active duty and a jōnin sensei.

He also liked her team well enough, though he usually stayed neutral when it came to most things. He knew Naruto and Koji more than he did Kasumi, seeing as Naruto practically lived in the compound at times.

Die her hair black and set her loose in the Uchiha district and no one would even realize she wasn't an Uchiha at first glance.

As it was no one blinked seeing the blonde there regularly because she was such a normal occurrence. Almost like they'd accepted her into the clan in a honorary way.

Even her husband was relatively fond of the blonde, but he'd known Minato and Kushina well enough.

Despite outward appearances, and Fugaku's social awkwardness he was a good man.

Though recently... she sighed. She was beginning to think he was going off the deep end, his newest pet project he only let her have some knowledge of concerned her.

Itachi was just as concerning to her. He'd been so distant lately, on a whole new level after Shisui died.

"Team Seven, reporting back Hokage-sama," Mikoto said as she stood in front of the admissions desk.

The Hokage did spend quite some time there, over looking missions given. He had been expecting the teams back so it was no surprise to see him there when they walked in.

The Sandaime looked at the trio of genin, or former genin he realized upon seeing the three in new chūnin vest of Konoha. It was a known fact that unless something happened, emergency wise, vest were given in the village the exams were hosted.

All villages vest were different, so a few vest were sent over to the hosting village in scrolls to be handed out as seen fit. All not used were sent back with the teams.

"I see you three were promoted after all," he said. "Well done."

Naruto grinned, showing how happy she was without saying the words. Later she'd talk to jiji about what had happened at the exam. She was still sort of upset about Yoko. She'd talked it out with her team, Mikoto-sensei and even Gaara.

Gaara didn't quite understand, though he was a bit fidgety on the topic of killing. She took it for him not having killed before (unknown to her it was the exact opposite).

She was on her way of getting over it, especially after Mikoto had told her she'd really had no choice at the time.

The fact Yoko had thanked her made it clear the girl was on some level seeking someone to kill her. Probably her whole reason behind testing her abilities against others.

"I expect the three of you back in a week for a mission. You three will continue to work as one cell, and depending on the mission and situation, Mikoto will join as your mission captain," the Hokage said.

"You mean she wont always be there with us?" Kasumi questioned.

"No, she wont. chūnin are just one rank below jōnin, we trust chūnin to be skilled enough to handle most missions without a jōnin present," he explained and the Team Seven nodded.

Moments later the three fresh chūnin left, and Mikoto bowed to the Hokage and followed after her once students seconds later.

* * *

"We did it!" Naruto exclaimed as she ran up to Itachi, who had his back turned, but of course she knew it was him, and jumped on him piggyback style.

Itachi grunted, and his hand flew back to catch Naruto's legs to keep her from falling.

Looking back slightly he saw strands of bright sunset hair, blue eyes and whisker marks. He also caught sight of the high chūnin vest collar.

He smiled lightly.

"I see that, Naru-chan," he said. "Where is mother and your teammates?"

Naruto kept her arms around his neck as she looked around her, to find Koji approaching, rolling his eyes, hands stuck in his pockets.

"Being slow as usual, Weasel-kun," she said, and Itachi chuckled shortly.

"I'm not slow," Koji said, having gotten close enough to have heard them. "I just like to take my time."

Itachi looked at the boy and mentally grimaced. He looked so much like Shisui, yet at the same time different.

Shisui didn't have quite the sharpness in his features that Koji did, but both were as obviously related as he and Sasuke were.

He couldn't help but think of the outcome of what his father and the rest of the clan were thinking of doing.

He knew it could only end badly, and he feared it would end in the clans destruction.

"I see you were promoted as well, Koji-kun."

Koji nodded.

"Hn," he began, "We all were. It was a hard exam though."

Itachi nodded.

"The Chūnin Exam always are," he said. "Come on, I'll treat you both to ramen once I pick Sasuke up from the Academy."

Naruto cheered, not even caring she had to spend time with Sasuke.

After all, she would never admit it but Sasuke was sort of her friend as well. Sort of, they had a friendly rivalry more than anything.


	18. Feed the Machine

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 17: ****Feed the Machine.**

Itachi sighed as he palmed his eyes in frustration.

His father's ideas of grandeur were beginning to take a toll on everyone, especially him and his mother.

It had been only a few months ago he'd noticed his father working on projects that he'd only give the bare minimum of knowledge to others.

That had changed the week following his mother's return from Suna with her team, or once team as they were all chūnin now.

Koji's family had a small celebration the day after the team returned, which had been held at Koji's. Team Seven was of course there, both Koji's parents – Uchiha Kuro and Uchiha Asami – and his family.

Sasuke hadn't exactly wanted to go, at least not that he'd let be shown.

He knew Sasuke saw Naruto as a friend in many ways, but at the same time his rival.

How he could consider himself a rival to her when she was already a chūnin was beyond him, but he never claimed to understand his brother's logic.

He let it be though, a bit of rivalry would be good for his little brother. Sasuke needed some sort of... childlike behavior in his life after all.

He knew his father was pushing Sasuke to be the best he could, but was also going a bit too far with it comparing him to Itachi.

His mother tried to help, but Itachi could already tell Sasuke doubted their father's love for them.

Sometimes even Itachi doubted it, but he knew his father was a hard man a lot of the time, but he was also the head of a large clan. He had to be or be eaten alive.

That was why he understood his father's desire to mend the Uchiha name, and to find a strong, happy future for his sons.

Either one, though he had pushed for Itachi to be the one in the agreement. It wasn't until a few hours ago he found out what his father was trying to do.

He was trying to settle on a agreement with the village council and Hokage about a arranged marriage for one of his sons, preferably his eldest.

A marriage between Itachi and Naruto.

He knew his father wasn't trying to do this to hurt anyone. He truly thought it would bring happiness to his son and even Naruto, and make the clan prosper. The added bonus of the fact their children would be very strong, a mix of the Uzumaki-Namikaze blood with the Uchiha... it would be a sight to behold.

Yet, Itachi wasn't exactly happy of what his father was doing. He already knew of how his father was trying to get the clan back where they were politically before the Kyuubi attack happened.

But it wasn't working, and Shisui had told him what he knew of his father's plans that he wasn't yet told.

A coup if all else failed, and it looked to be failing.

But that was beside the point.

The marriage, it didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. It seemed many were against the idea, some for noble reasons.

The Hokage because he wanted Naruto to be able to choose her own husband when she was older, the same could be said for Itachi and his mother.

Many apparently thought the girl would corrupt the Uchiha more, and others thought giving that sort of power to a clan rumored to have power of the Kyuubi a bad idea.

While the other side loved the idea, for the reason they were rumored to have powers of control over the Kyuubi.

He of course told his father he didn't see Naruto in more than a platonic way but like many times in the past his father was playing the selective hearing card.

One of his father's many flaws was he couldn't admit he was wrong, and once he got something in his head it would take a bomb dropping on him – literally – to change his mind.

Hopefully in the end the idea of arranging a marriage with Naruto would fall through, but Itachi had the strangest feeling it wouldn't go quite like that.

He had no doubt that in the end it wouldn't happen, but something told him it would take blood and tears to solve the problem.

Itachi opened his eyes once more, looking up slightly towards the blue sky and blinked.

Dangling above him was a long object, one his knew very well.

Pocky.

Now, he wasn't addicted to pocky, no, that was a _complete_ misconception.

_Really_, it was (but like they say, denial isn't just a river, or whatever).

Hmm, from the looks of it strawberry pocky.

"Since when does pocky fly?" he muttered and looked further up at the chuckles he heard above him.

On a high branch, in the tree above him half-sat half laid Uzumaki Naruto. He didn't know whether her timing was bad or not. Considering the previous thoughts he'd been having and the situation they were finding themselves in if his father got his way.

"Pocky, Naru-chan?" he inquired, his eyes going from her to the pocky connected to a bit of ninja wire that was connected to a thin twig of a branch, like a fishing pole he supposed.

"You looked like you needed a break from reality... so I thought I'd see if weasels would jump for pocky," she said, smirking.

He narrowed his eyes at her, smirking half in amusement at her terrible joke. Probably thought up on the spot, or she had said it to try and get a raise out of him.

Apparently she'd made it her mission with her free time to try and get an emotion out of him other than apathy, or that of a rock.

He didn't think he was that bad.

"Did you eat the rest of the pocky?" he asked, and Naruto laughed and began moving the pocky in a taunting way before him with the branch-wire configuration.

"You have to catch it first, Itachi-kun," she said and gasped a second later when a strong jerk from the pocky end of the ninja wire made her loose her balance.

Itachi groaned as the blonde toppled from her branch and landed practically dead center in his lap. Sighing he stuck the pocky he'd captured into his mouth and stared dryly at his friend.

"Aww, isn't this cute," a female voice interrupted anything either could say.

Both looked over, blinking as they saw Koji and Kasumi entering the training ground team seven frequented – the one known by the Uchiha.

Looking at each other, Itachi felt his cheeks warm up marginally as he closed his eyes and realized the awkwardness of their current position.

Naruto was in his lap, and people could get the wrong idea easily.

Opening them seconds later he noticed Naruto's eyes were wide, her mouth open slightly in her shock and she was nearly tomato red in the face.

Kasumi was laughing, her dog barking as if to laugh as well, and Koji... well, he seemed to have developed a twitch in his right eye.

Naruto was quick to jump up from his lap, and scurried closer to her teammates.

"That wasn't... we were just... I fell...and.."

Kasumi snickered.

"I see, you fell and his lap just happened to cushion your..."

Itachi twitched, similar to Koji, there was something about the way that girl said that. Something... something perverted.

He may not be the best when it came to social things, or the workings of the whole perverted aspects of words and life but he could read people rather well.

There was definitely a double meaning in that sentence.

Apparently, Naruto figured it out and turned a whole knew shade of red he didn't think possible for anyone to do without painting themselves red.

"Kasumi, that's not funny and it hardly even makes sense!" Naruto exclaimed. "And for the love of Kami, stop stealing your brothers dirty books. If I ever meet the person who wrote those orange monstrosities I'll use them as a pincushion for my Ryūjin no Hari."

Many miles away in the village of Hot Water a man with long white hair and red facial marks sneezed before he continued peeping on the local women's hot springs.

Itachi continued to twitch as he finished the stick of pocky.

He didn't think girls were aloud to read smut... now if only he could stop twitching.

* * *

"How do I always get roped into this crap?" Naruto wondered as she rubbed her forehead.

"Naru-obachan!" a childish voice called and Naruto looked over to see the child.

Once again she was being forced to babysit, this time not for Konohamaru and his little playmates, but for the few children around her and Sasuke's age in the Uchiha clan.

There were only four of them, and only one was Sasuke's age, the others were older, but not yet ninja.

Despite her being younger than the other three – ten, and eleven respectively – they seemed to look up to her in a strange way, calling her aunt or sister. She wasn't used to it at first, but after a year or two she got used to it.

This wouldn't be the first time she'd watched them, but she remembered it being far worse when the youngest, the one her age, was younger.

Leiko, the youngest and only one of the main family (she found it strange how all clans had a similar set up to the Hyuuga with main family and branch family, yet unlike the Hyuuga none of them treated their branch family like slaves).

Mikoto's aunt's daughter, if Naruto was remembering right.

It was Leiko who had spoken, and the one who commonly called her aunt. The other three called her sister instead of aunt, mostly.

Why Leiko decided to call her aunt, she didn't know but she didn't mind it. Despite not caring for babysitting jobs, Naruto did like children.

But she was technically still a child herself so her patience wasn't as fine tuned as someone older having the same job.

"Yes, Leiko-chan?" Naruto asked, coming out of her thoughts.

All four of her wards had black hair, and black eyes, which was the most common of the clan. The differences were in gender and facial features.

Most Uchiha all shared a sharpness to these features. Though she'd seen some that had rounder faces, and others that had features not quite as sharp.

Despite a common similarity she'd found it wasn't that hard to distinguish, they weren't all identical like the villagers seemed to believe.

Apparently many thought if a person had black hair, fair skin, and black eyes they were most likely an Uchiha. Naruto knew better, and found it amusing that civilians would assume like that.

"Can you tell us about your trip to Sunagakure, Onee-chan," Satomi, the ten year old, asked.

Naruto frowned for a moment, looking over at the clock before smiling.

"Sure, but during lunch. You four finish your homework while I go make something for us to eat," she answered and the four nodded, hiding their disappointed at having to wait.

All four were in the Academy, and it being the weekend she remembered being piled with homework.

She'd always try to finish it that Friday so she had Saturday and Sunday free to train. She was glad her Academy days were over.

Usually, Naruto would see if Itachi, or Sasuke wanted lunch as well. Or even Mikoto-sensei or Fugaku-sama, but none of them were around.

Itachi was on a mission, Sasuke was training with his father, and Mikoto was on a mission as well.

Currently their once genin teacher was still on active duty, and would probably stay on active duty for now. It was one of the reasons she was asked to watch the four she was watching.

Their parents were either needing time to themselves, or on a mission. There were actually quite a few missions coming in lately, since the Chūnin Exams.

She supposed the genin teams in Suna had made an impression, though she wasn't even sure any Daimyo other than the Wind Daimyo had been there.

Apparently word traveled fast.

"Here, I made Kitsune Udon and some Onigiri," she said as she entered the room with the food.

Heading for the table she placed each bowl in their place, laid out the chopsticks, and placed the Onigri in the center of the table for after. She would have to go back for the tea.

Leiko was the first at the table, sitting comfortably, followed by Satomi, Shinobu and Taiki.

"Did you put naruto in it?" Shinobu asked, a smirk on his face as he sat down in front of one of the bowls.

Naruto gave him a dry looked, and raised an eyebrow.

"That stopped being funny after the the first dozenth times," she said, and then turned. "I'll be back with the tea in a minute."

On her way to the kitchen, Naruto stopped back the back entrance and slid the door open.

Though not exactly unknown to those in the clan, those not of the clan were not usually privy to the fact there was a training ground in the back of the main families house.

Mikoto had let her watch the children there, seeing as it was the biggest house in the district and she'd need the room watching four others.

But back to the point. The training ground outback was where Fugaku-sama and Sasuke were. Stepping outside, Naruto instantly saw the two working on Sasuke's fire jutsu. He had managed the coming of age fire jutsu already, and his father was now trying to teach him another common Uchiha fire jutsu.

This one was causing Sasuke much more trouble it seemed.

"Excuse me, Fugaku-sama," Naruto said, drawing the two attention to her. "I apologize for interrupting, but I thought I should ask if you wished to eat lunch with myself and the others."

Sasuke wasn't surprised by Naruto's appearance, he'd seen her in casual clothes before.

Though he wasn't that used to her not having her forehead protector on her forehead. Instead he saw it tied around her forearm under the long sleeved orange-red thin sweater, a black spaghetti strap dress was over this.

The dress came down to mid-thigh, and she wore black shinobi sandals, which was normal for not a ninja or if one was not on duty.

Her long hair was tied back in two low braids and she had a orange-red bandanna which made her hair stand out even more.

He looked away, hiding a small blush.

He'd known Naruto for years now, and considered her his rival, and grudgingly his friend. He couldn't ignore the fact she was rather pretty as well, but he would deny it until he died.

"Thank you, Naruto," Fugaku said, nodding. "Sasuke and I have already had a bento, though, after you've eaten I would like to talk to you about something."

Naruto blinked, before nodding, bowed respectfully and turned with the intent of returning inside.

After sliding the door shut she headed into the kitchen and grabbed the tray with the tea on it and headed back to the others.

They were probably getting impatient by now.

* * *

after she had eaten and cleaned up, Naruto had gone back to where she knew Fugaku-sama and Sasuke were.

Not all that surprising he had dismissed Sasuke from his training for the day.

After that they began to walk through the garden on the other side of the back yard, the garden Mikoto would spend long hours on.

Naruto had never seen something quite like it when she'd first seen it. A person could just tell that Mikoto spent a lot of time and work on the large garden.

"Naruto, have you given any thought to your future?"

Naruto looked at the older man in surprise, a small frown on her face before she shook her head.

She truly hadn't given what she would do in the future, her goal was to find her place in life and get the village to at least respect her.

She didn't care if they loved her, or treated her as they did the larger clans – like the Hyuuga and Uchiha, obviously – she just wanted to be treated like a human being by them.

She'd accomplished one of them, she'd found a place in life, but she was still working to be recognized.

"Not really," she admitted. "I've sort of been focused on my career as a Kunoichi."

Fugaku nodded.

"That is expected," he said. "I'll be blunt and honest with you, Naruto, at first I was weary of the clans involvement with you. I think you know why."

Naruto nodded, her eyes dropped a bit sadly.

"But over time I realized it didn't matter. The clan has been loosing face since before you were even born, and over time I've come to realize my initial fear was wrong," he said. "Recently I've been trying to arrange something for you and one of my sons."

Seeing Naruto's curious look he continued.

"A marriage, Naruto," he explained, and Naruto's eyes widened and the two came to a sudden stop.

"A...marriage?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded.

"I've come to be fond of you, you remind me much of your parents," he said, smiling so slightly it was almost nonexistent.

"It was talked about once or twice when Kushina was still pregnant with you, but nothing was ever decided since they didn't even know your gender then. Mikoto doesn't wish to push you into anything, but I think you would be able to make either one of my sons happy, and they you, but I would prefer you not be unhappy either."

"Oh," she said, and blinked. "So you're asking me..."

"If you would agree to a betrothal. The council has been making it difficult, they don't trust the clan much anymore and the rumors of our part in the Kyuubi attack. I am sure you can guess what is making it hard for me to get them to even agree to the arrangement."

Naruto nodded, knowing exactly what the council's problem was.

The Uchiha can was not only blamed by some for the Kyuubi attacking but it was rumored they could use the Sharingan to control the bijū.

Many would either not want her further corruption the Uchiha and some could possibly want her with them because it was rumored they could control Kyuubi.

There was also her clan names. After returning the news of who her parents were had spread from Wind Country all the way back to Fire Country.

The village now knew who her parents were, and while some believed it and now looked at her in pity and regret, while others believed she had killed the true child and the was the fox masquerading as her.

So the only thing that had truly changed was people either hated her more, or pitied her and felt sorry for themselves – all things she could do without.

Some though, like the clans would see her marrying into the Uchiha as giving the clan too much power.

The power to claim relation to two very prestigious and nearly extinct clans – Uzumaki and Namikaze. Some of them probably wouldn't mind if she married into one of their families.

"I don't know, Fugaku-sama, I...I haven't given it much thought, marriage and love that is. I always assumed I'd..." she trailed off with a sigh.

She'd always assumed she'd live alone, that marriage just wasn't something for her. Who would want her, she wasn't outlandishly beautiful in her opinion, and she was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi to boot.

"I see," he muttered, a almost sadness to his words. "You don't have to be alone, Naruto. Mikoto once told me she believes everyone has that someone out there. It's just a matter of finding them, that is why I agreed to hear you before pushing it any further."

Naruto looked at the older man and smiled.

"If I were to agree to marry one of them, I'd choose Itachi. I know Sasuke is closer to my age, and as a result it would be more obvious for me to choose him, but I can't see myself having more than friendship with him. We're also too similar, I think we'd probably kill each other within a year. While I see Itachi as an older brother now, I could grow past that in the future," she said. "But I am only eight, turning nine soon, I don't know it I want to be tied to one person yet. And I don't want to tie Itachi too me if he doesn't want to either."

Fugaku nodded, smiling lightly.

"You are very much your parents daughter, Naruto," he said. "I can have the arrangement written so that if either of you want to break it in the future it can be broken, but for this to happen you'd both have to be in agreement that it could be broken."

Naruto smiled, thinking of the ups and down of the situation.

True, she would have an arranged marriage, but that wasn't uncommon (though not exactly common practice anymore) even in Konoha.

Many Hyuuga's had them, and other clans as well. Even a few civilians had them. Though it was more common among nobles.

Her mother might have even had one had Whirlpool not been destroyed, though she was thankful she hadn't or she might never have been born. She did wish she'd have been able to see her mother home village without it being in ruins.

But she digressed.

She knew she could be happy with Itachi, and she hoped he could say the same about her, but at the same time she knew it might never be the kind of true love she'd read about in books.

She was a girl, she was guilty of reading a trashy romance novel now and then. Souls mates, true love, it was a fantasy to her, something she was sure she'd never receive.

So maybe it was settling, but that was okay.

On the other hand there was no promise she'd live long enough to marry anyone, a ninja's life was kill or be killed. Many barely made it into their mid twenties.

There was also the fact if by some miracle she did truly fall in love with someone, meet her soul mate, then she could break the contract with Itachi.

She had no doubt he would agree, and he knew her well enough to know she'd do the same if he found someone.

All in all, she didn't see a problem.

Naruto nodded.

"Alright, that's acceptable."

* * *

"I heard from mother, that father talked to you about the arrangement."

Naruto turned too look at the familiar figure coming up behind her as she sat on the edge of the roof of her apartment building and stared up at the night stars and moon.

She smiled at the weasel masked anbu.

"We tend to meet here a lot don't we," she said more than asked.

Itachi chuckled and nodded.

"Yes," he said. "i guess we do."

There was a span of silence between them before Itachi spoke again.

"How are you, father said you had agreed to the contract as long as there was the ability to break it with mutual agreement and it was with me."

Blunt as ever, she thought with a small snort.

"I did, and I am fine. I knew what I was doing when I agreed and as you said, the contract can be broken at any time by us," she said, and bit her lip. "I hope this doesn't make things awkward between us, Itachi-kun. You understand why I chose you if anyone to have this arrangement with. Koji would have been my next choice, but he's wasn't a choice given he is part of the branch family."

"Not to mention these sort of betrothals are between heir of two clans," Itachi said, nodding. "I do understand. While you and Sasuke might grow to have feelings for one another you are also rather similar. While opposites do attract as do those similar to one another, there is a line. You'd probably kill each other with both of your tempers."

Itachi smiled at her from under his mask.

"I too agreed to father's proposal, I just wanted to make sure father didn't twist words around and persuade you into this. Uchiha are rather gifted in trickery and mind games after all."

Naruto laughed.

"I'm not too bad at mind games myself, Weasel-kun," she said. "But no, Fugaku-sama was very plain and honest with me. I agreed because I have strong connections with your family and clan, and I trust you. I also knew if by some chance I did find someone in the future, or if you did, we could easily agree to break the agreement."

Itachi nodded.

"If that ever happens, just say the word and it'll be done," he said, and he sat down beside her on the building. "I think you should head in soon though, I heard Asuma-san had a mission tomorrow and Hokage-sama needed someone to watch his grandson."

Naruto froze and looked over at Itachi in slight fear.

"You're not serious," she said, and Itachi smirked behind his mask.

"Dead serious."

Naruto paled dramatically and stood up, careful not to loose her balance and fall.

"Thanks for the tip, I'll see you around, Itachi," she said, and Itachi chuckled as he watched the blonde disappear towards the door that had led her to the roof in the first place.

Seconds later, Itachi himself was gone, off to finish his patrol of the village.

* * *

**AN: So, another chapter. **

**I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed before anything else. Without these reviews I doubt this story would have gotten so far so quickly. **

**Some of you are probably pretty surprise at the turn of things here, though it was foreshadowed slightly in the last chapter. **

**Now on another note, many of you are practically begging me not to kill Koji. I hate to say it, but I have tried every possible plot to keep him alive, and yet it all ends with him dying. **

**I have reasons for this, more than just a plot device and I'll elaborate on that when the chapter with the Massacre comes up. For now, just be warned many of you are going to curse me and possibly even cry once we get to that point in the story. **

**Also the marriage arrangement was something that came to me a while ago, though I do have to thank Dark Serpent Cat who helped some with the scene where Fugaku tells Naruto. Without his input I may not have been able to finish this chapter so early. **

**This story is still very much a Gaara/Naru... as obviously the contract will be void once Itachi becomes a missing-nin. **

**The next chapter will involve a mission for team seven, and Naruto's ninth birthday.**

**On another note, the chapter title is from a song, Feed the Machine by Red which I happened to be listening to while I wrote part of the chapter. **


	19. Rebellion of the Bloody Mist

**AN: So, the next chapter. **

**This chapter is actually just their mission, the next will show the end of their mission, return to Konoha and Naruto's birthday. The chapter after that will most likely be the Massacre, just a warning. **

**Now, at the end of the chapter will be another AN, but with information, much like I did during the Chunin Arc. It is a bit about the history of the swords Naruto wields from her mother and the other five swords of the Uzumaki clan. **

**The swords idea actually came in part from the Swords of the Mist and Bleach. There will probably be some influence from other Anime's when it comes to techniques and abilities throughout the story. **

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 18: Rebellion of the Bloody Mist. **

Koji and Kasumi stared at their friend in shock.

It was two weeks before Naruto felt able to tell her teammates exactly what had occurred, and the agreement she'd come to with Fugaku-sama, and Itachi.

She didn't know if Fugaku-sama had gotten the betrothal passed yet, and really wasn't concerned about it.

What she knew was that she was probably going to be betrothed to Itachi if the older man got it passed the council, and that at any time it could be broken by her and Itachi.

The only other way for it to be broken was if Itachi or she died, or if one of them became missing-nin and traitors to the village.

She didn't see the latter happening and she really hoped the former didn't happen.

"You're engaged!?" Kasumi finally exclaimed, unable to keep it in any longer.

Koji just stared, frowning.

"Betrothed... and I don't even know if it's been finalized yet," Naruto said, shrugging. "I'm not worried about it. I did agree to it after all."

"To... Itachi?" Koji asked, his voice unusually...strange for a lack of knowing how to describe it.

_'I guess I've finally lost her,'_ Koji thought with a sigh and then shook his head.

He didn't know where that had come from, Naruto wasn't even his to loose and he'd decided in Suna he wouldn't come between her and anyone she wanted to see in the future.

He'd been sure he'd seen her getting rather close to that Gaara kid, but maybe he was wrong.

'_She's only eight, nearly nine. She's not quite the age of thinking of others like that,' _his thoughts countered.

_'Yeah, that's strange, didn't she have a small crush on you in the past?'_ Another annoying thought.

He frowned deeper at his own turbulent thoughts.

He shook his head, his thoughts were stupid. He knew he was being stupid, and if anyone would be involved with his best friend in an arranged marriage he was relieved it was Itachi.

At least with Itachi he knew the boy cared about his teammate, and Koji knew that Naruto cared for Itachi.

To what extent, well he supposed that would be revealed in the future. He had little doubt that now that Naruto had agreed to it the council would have little to keep it from happening.

Being the clan heir of two clans gave her word quite some sway, despite how the village saw her as a demon – though things had gotten a little better since they'd first been genin, or in the academy.

Fugaku-sama could also be very persuasive when it came to politics.

Then there was Kasumi... maybe this was for the best.

With Naruto being in the arrangement maybe he could figure out exactly what he felt for the blonde and his other teammate who he'd begun having feelings for the year before.

What those feelings were he was still rather clueless and confused.

"Are you sure about this, Naru?" Kasumi asked, frowning. "I mean, you're still young and what if you find someone you love in the future! I thought you and Itachi had sibling relationship?"

Naruto smiled at her friend.

"You're right, I am young, but there are ways to break it if Itachi and I want to in the future. If we both agree than it can be broken, that is in case one of us does find love in someone else. Otherwise we will marry whenever we're ready, as long as it is by my eighteenth birthday. That is how most betrothals work, I think," she answered and Koji and Kasumi nodded.

Both being from the clans they were knew how these arrangements worked.

Though the ability to break it at any time with both parties agreement was new to them. It was probably done as a favor to Naruto by Fugaku, who despite outward appearances wasn't a bad man.

Even Koji knew that and he didn't see Fugaku-sama often. Despite the fact his father and Fugaku-sama were third cousins, or was it fourth?

It didn't matter, he knew they were pretty distant cousins, much like many in the clan, besides those who married into the clan and weren't born Uchiha.

"Come on, we should head out," Naruto finally said. "We'll be late to the missions office if we don't leave now."

Koji and Kasumi nodded and together the three left Naruto's apartment, which they had met her at early that morning for breakfast.

Sometimes the three of them did that, because Naruto was the only one of them who knew how to cook, and cook good food.

They both supposed it was because she'd never really had anyone to do things like cook for her or clean, the normal things children didn't do but had their parents for.

Yet, Naruto had to learn to survive on her own and cooking probably became mandatory young, especially after the orphanage kicked her out.

Why she still lived in the apartment building neither understood.

Yes, she'd protected it with seals, some of which would even protect the building from being condemned in the future.

Though, that seal was the newest added, but she had her father's compound and house she could live in now.

When they had asked she simply said she liked her apartment. It was small, yet not too small for her, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to live where her father and mother had before their death.

Over the years she'd pretty much put her resentful feelings towards her father away, though they both knew she wasn't quite ready to forgive him yet.

Maybe part of her didn't want to live in the clan compound or her parents house because it would bring those feelings of resentment to the surface.

Without even realizing they'd arrived at the missions office, all three lined up, with Naruto in the middle and Mizumaru sitting in front of the spot between Naruto and Kasumi.

All three pretty much wore the same thing they usually did as far as clothes went, except each now wore a chūnin vest – at least for now.

Naruto didn't really like the way her vest looked with her kimono-blouse and orange and green wasn't exactly the best color combination. Even if it was a dark orange.

No, she would have to look into buying a new wardrobe.

Her mothers old clothes had suited her for a long time but she was beginning to grow out of them and her sewing skills could only go so far, and she did hate it.

She ended up loosing quite a bit of blood in the process when using a needle and thread.

Though she wasn't exactly fond of the chūnin vest itself, either, but usually on missions it was best to wear it, especially those outside the village.

It was actually only mandatory during a war.

"Team Seven, reporting for a mission," Kasumi said, smiling cheerfully.

"Ah, team seven, just who I wanted to see," the Hokage said, coming in from another room. "I have an important mission for you three. It's a B-rank."

Team Seven's eyes widened. They had been doing quite a few C-Rank since they were promoted the month before, but they'd never been given a B-rank yet.

"A B-rank," Koji said. "What exactly does it entail Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage handed the mission scroll over to Naruto, as she was the closes to him presently.

"It's actually rather dangerous, it would usually be considered a C-rank, but the location... well that is why it is so high ranked." Sarutobi's face became much more serious and he removed his pipe for a moment.

"You three will be taking a large storage scroll to Mizu no Kuni, more literally a small village outside Kirigakure no Sato." he frowned gravely. "I believe you can understand the seriousness of this mission."

"The Bloody mist, they're currently involved in a civil war aren't they?" Naruto inquired.

The Hokage nodded.

"Yes, a resistance against those who support the Yondaime Mizukage's bloodline purges. The leader of this resistance, Terumi Mei, has asked for our assistance. We can not send our people into a war, we don't have that kind of resources so soon after the attack nearly nine years ago," he began explaining.

"But I did wish to offer some assistance, so I sent back word that I would send a team of chūnin with a scroll of supplies for them to use. The reason this is so dangerous is you will be going so close to the danger itself. I don't know exactly how far out of Kirigakure the war has traveled but you must remain alert. I would send Mikoto with you, but she is currently busy. I unfortunately do not have a jōnin available to go, nor anyone else."

"Why us, we haven't been on such a high ranked mission yet," Naruto said. "Wouldn't it be better to send a more experienced chūnin team?"

"It would, normally, but you three are one of the best teams I currently have, and the only one left available for this mission. Do you accept?" Sarutobi asked.

Looking at each other, Team Seven nodded, and turned back to the Hokage.

"We do, Hokage-sama," Naruto said.

"Good, Koji you will lead this mission," he said, "You leave before the day is out. I leave it to you to decide exactly when, but before nightfall would be best."

he pulled a large scroll, about as thick as a wooden training post and a little taller then Naruto – though she was quite short, a little shorter than she should be for her age group in her opinion.

But it was not as tall as Kasumi or Koji.

The Hokage handed it over to Koji who took it and strapped it across his back.

"Good luck, I expect you'll be back within a month and half at the latest. Be sure to send notice if you're delayed longer than that, dismissed."

The team nodded, bowed and left to get ready for their first big mission as Chūnin.

"I hope the curse of the first C-rank isn't the same for first B-ranks," Naruto muttered and Koji and Kasumi groaned. "What?"

"You just had to say it," Kasumi said, shaking her head. "I hope you didn't just turn our luck bad, Naru-chan."

Koji nodded, and grunted, "Hn."

Naruto pouted slightly, and turned away.

They acted as if she'd just sentenced them to cleaning the public bathrooms at the hot springs with their toothbrush.

"Don't be superstitious," she said. "My words have nothing to do with anything bad that happens now, we are going towards the Village of the Bloody Mist. that in itself is an omen, according to everyone else."

Koji and Kasumi couldn't help but agree, after all they recalled how the genin teams in the chūnin exams had acted that were from Kiri.

* * *

"Where are we supposed to go exactly, Naru?" Kasumi asked as they finally entered the Land of Water.

The group had left Konoha over a week before, stopping at night during the travel to rest, though they'd made sure to choose locations that weren't out in the open.

Naruto had even added some seals that would alert her of intruders of human nature and hostel intent.

They were actually simple seals for what they did.

"A small village a few miles outside Kirigakure, Mizunami," the blonde replied and sighed. "The closer we get to Kiri the more dangerous this becomes, you're aware of that, right?"

The other two nodded.

"We need a plan," Koji said. "Better than the one we had. Mizumaru, you need to keep you nose on alert. We have to be aware of our surroundings at all time. Chances are, it won't be simple genin or chūnin that attack, this is a civil war after all."

Kasumi sighed.

"Kami, I wish Mikoto-sensei would have been able to come."

"We can't always rely on Mikoto-sensei, Kasumi," Naruto said softly. "Nor can we rely on other jōnin, we wouldn't be very good ninja if we did. We just have remember our strengths and what sensei taught us if we're attacked by a higher rank."

"She's right, Kasumi-chan," Koji said, leaning back against the large tree branch he was on.

None of them felt safe on the ground, so after they'd put out the small fire they'd used to cook food, they'd retreated to a large branch in one of the trees.

"We should get some sleep, I'll take first watch. Naruto, the next watch, and Kasumi will take last watch."

Nodding, the two girls shifted on their branches and Koji sighed as he looked to the black sky.

_'I hope we can make it there and back without confrontation. At least not heavy confrontation, despite how skilled we are together or even alone, I doubt we could stand up against more than one or two jōnin level nin.' _

The more he thought about it, the more Koji wanted to get to the village they were meeting the rebellion leader in and get out of Water Country.

* * *

They should have known.

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. People were under the misconception that the number seven was lucky, but there was many generations of Team Seven's that could beg the differ.

Team Mikoto, or maybe it would be Team Koji right now since he was in charge of their current mission, was one of those teams.

They had left early the next morning from their camp, and made good time on their run towards the village a few miles north of Kirigakure.

The mist in the Land of Water was think, some areas held a lot of snow, but the closer to Kiri one got the more thick the mist became.

It was a climate they had yet to be in as of yet. They had actually only been to Mizu no Kuni once one a C-rank and that was to a village only a few miles past the border of the Land of Water.

The mist wasn't as thick there, and they'd only met a few bandits during that mission.

Now they were practically in the heart of a war ground, and it showed.

Some would question the Hokage's judgment to send three green chūnin into a battle ground, even they did to some extent.

But anyone who was a ninja knew eventually chūnin had to be thrown into the shark tank, so to speak.

No ninja got the experience and skill needed to survive their line of work by doing simple D and C rank missions.

The Hokage was showing that he had faith in their abilities and that they deserved their rank of chūnin despite being so young.

It was knowing this that kept them from panicking when Kiri shinobi appeared around them from the mist. The scroll across Koji's back had suddenly felt a thousand pounds heavier.

"Koji, Kasumi! Combination #4!" Naruto called as she nailed one of the Kiri-nin who had surrounded her in the gut and than in the chest in quick succession with a hard kick.

Blocking a incoming fist and jumping back from a drop kick from the third she had been engaged in fighting, she tried to get closer to her teammates.

Mizumaru, seeing her team in need of a distraction, growled and began attacking, trying to herd the humans into close quarters.

"Right," Kasumi said, nodding as she finally got away from the two nin she'd been fighting.

All of them were a little winded, especially Kasumi and Koji who didn't have the stamina that Naruto did.

Koji was first and he was probably the quickest at finishing his hand seals; though there was only really one seal for the technique - Tiger

"Katon: Hibashiri (Fire Release: Running Fire)," he said, and fire formed a large circle around the ninja that had been herded by Mizumaru, who was now trying to keep the ones not in the circle away from them.

Mizumaru was a lot larger than she had been years ago, so it wasn't that hard for the Inuzuka's ninkin who'd been trained for this sort of thing since she was a pup.

It was only a second before Kasumi had finished her seals and released her attack.

"Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Godly Wind from the Mountain)," she called, her hands extended in front of her as the wind was released as fiercely as she could.

For someone with no wind affinity, Kasumi had learned the technique with quite a bit of power behind it, so they had no doubt it would inflame the flames circling around the jōnin Kiri-nin.

Kasumi groaned, cursing silently, as one of the ones not in the circle broke from Mizumaru and charged at them, kunai in hand.

Grabbing her hanbō tightly from where she'd stuck it across her back with a leather sash like cloth and chakra, she spun around, ducking and knocking the ninja's feet out from under him.

It sent him flying into Koji's waiting form, where he positioned his kunai where the ninja would basically fall into it, chest first.

During the span of these thirty seconds, Naruto had already unsealed Toyotama-Hime and was charging towards the trapped ninja,

Naruto had only been learning Kenjutsu from the scrolls left by her mother for about a year now, at least in depth.

Recently, for about three months now, she'd been looking at the kenjutsu techniques created for the blades she wielded.

Her mother, Kushina had been very proficient in them, and was one reason she received her entry into the bingo books.

Unlike other blades, Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri were crafted in a similar manner to the seven swords of the mist.

Like them they had special abilities of sorts. Being made of chakra metal and branded with many seals upon creation made them even more unique.

It was how the Uzuamki-style dances that had been created by the clan for each sword had come about.

The techniques would not be what they currently were without the properties of each sword. For instance, the first wielders of Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri had named their dances for the deities.

Amaterasu, Tsukiyo (Moonlit Night, which in a way led back to Tsukuyomi), and Ame-no-Uzume for Toyotama-Hime.

For Hitokiri it was Izanami, Inari, and Fūjin.

Each would take her years to master, as it had her mother before her, and with the need for chakra control most the dances needed she might never be able to use them to their full potential.

Yet she'd been able to get a pretty good hold on the first dance with the help of her team and hard work.

It was nowhere near complete power, as it took great control to utilize chakra in the right way. It was one reason for the combination attack.

Once she was about two feet from the fire she stopped.

"Some no mai; Amaterasu (First Dance; Amaterasu)," she called and slashed her katana, which had been glowing with her oddly darkish violet-blue chakra.

As she ended the horizontal slash the chakra built up was pushed out as densely and sharply as she could control it to become.

Thankfully, even if she didn't have great control of her chakra yet, she had a lot of it, and Uzumaki chakra was always denser than other chakra.

Well, other than the Hatake White Chakra who had even denser chakra.

Jumping back, the chakra met the powerful circle of fire.

The chakra itself having resembled flames which was probably one of the reasons her ancestor and creator of the technique had named it Amaterasu.

She only knew of one other technique called Amaterasu, and she'd only seen it preformed by accident.

It had been about a week before the chūnin Exams and she'd gone to the training ground she and Koji had been using since before they were genin and seen Itachi using it.

He'd explained the black flames of Amaterasu were one of the abilities from his Mangekyō Sharingan.

He hadn't told her much about the mutation of his normal Sharingan, just that it was the next evolution of the Sharingan that was hardly worth the price.

He didn't tell her what the price was exactly, just that it had to do with guilt and pain.

She didn't pry further, and hadn't mentioned it to anyone else.

She assumed it was guilt of what happened to Shisui, and not being able to save him. Shisui and Itachi had been best friends.

But she was missing the point, the point was hers kenjutsu-ninjutsu attack was nowhere near as powerful as Itachi's Amaterasu, despite being named similarly.

Even after she'd mastered the dance to it's full potential or as close as she could get it, it still wouldn't be the same.

Mainly because her technique wasn't true flames, but very dense and corrosive chakra that simply resembled flames.

As Naruto came back to stand with her team the ones inside the circle of flames, wind and her own added attack created what resembled a whirlwind or whirlpool of darker red-violet flames that seemed to be closing in.

Team Seven winced at the screams which were soon cut short as the technique died down. Looking around they sighed in relief at the fact there were none left.

Twenty had attacked, they estimated at least ten were jōnin, but it didn't seem as if they'd fought that many.

To add to it, Naruto only counted eleven bodies, and most of those were in the burnt area of the once powerful combination technique.

"I can see why the leaf sent you, of all the chūnin teams," a female voice and they turned only to meet what appeared to be a Kiri-nin.

She was dressed in a blue off the shoulder battle dress of sorts, with a hita-ate around her waist. She had really long auburn red hair that was sort of spiky and fell across one of her green eyes. She couldn't be more than her early twenties.

Behind her where two other ninja, and further back were bodies.

What Team Seven now realized where those who had fallen back to serve as the second wave of attack, in case they had turned out to be a bigger threat than first thought.

Probably around the point of their combination attack the woman before them and her two companions had arrived.

Taken out the threat they hadn't even noticed before now.

Tired from using so much chakra and fighting – though of course Naruto was already on the fast track to recovery, and not near as tired as Koji or Kasumi and Mizumaru – the three chūnin hadn't even noticed.

Wincing they realized how dead they could be at that moment if the woman wanted.

"Who are you?" Koji asked, his Sharingan blazing as he went on the defensive.

The woman smirked.

"Calm down cutey," the redhead began, and Kasumi and Naruto both twitched or blinked owlishly respectively. "I'm the one you're looking for. Terumi Mei, and you are the chūnin Konoha was sending with the scroll?"

Team Seven looked at the woman, and Mizumaru barked once, and Kasumi sighed.

"She's not lying, as far as Mizumaru can tell," Kasumi said lowly, glancing at her team.

They nodded.

"We are, we're Team Seven," Koji said, nodding.

Mei whistled as she looked over at the area were charred bodies lay and the damaged ground around the attack.

"That was quite the attack, you work well together. Though I expect no less from Konoha, they seem to have a way about teamwork," she said, and then she turned her gaze to Naruto.

"You wield that blade well," she said, tilting her head slightly. "Though it surprised me, I hadn't thought that blade still around. Not since Uzu no Kuni was destroyed at least, and of course the Aka no rensa-shi of Konoha. Though she's been dead for nearly nine years, I believe."

Naruto looked at the woman before her in surprise.

"You knew my mother?" she asked, and Mei's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open for a split second in her surprise.

Slowly the woman came closer and looked closer at Naruto, reaching out and picking up a lock of her sunset colored hair.

It was loose, not unusual for her, but one side of her disobedient bangs were pulled back by two heavy duty blue metal clips.

One of the clips had a small red Uchiha fan on it, something given to her not long after the chūnin Exams to congratulate her for her promotion.

It was surprising since no one who wasn't an Uchiha or Uchiha by marriage wore the clan symbol, yet the elders nor anyone else had anything to say about the hair clip.

Though now that she recalled Fugaku-sama had been uncharacteristically happy in the development.

The fact it was given to her by Itachi who had obviously talked to his father and the clan elders about it to get permission for her to even wear the symbol, even if it was just on her hair clip.

The three elders obviously supported Fugaku-sama in his betrothal arrangement between her and Itachi.

Though even if they hadn't, Fugaku-sama was the clan head, the elders were simply advisers.

Much like how the shinobi and civilian council of the Hokage and the three elder council members were supposed to be.

She didn't like politics though, but she knew enough to realize they were gaining more power than they should have. More so the council elders and civilian council.

But the point wasn't the power the larger clan elders or Hokage council bodies had.

The point of her rambling thoughts was the dark blue hair clips which she'd taken to replacing the ones that once belonged to her mother with.

It was actually kind of ironic and funny, in an almost bittersweet way, that Itachi had given her something such as the hair-clip with his family symbol, and hardly a week later she was agreeing to a marriage contract between herself and Itachi.

Mei's voice brought her from her thoughts.

"I had heard that the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage had been revealed, but not exactly who her mother was," the woman said, and let the hair fall from her hands and straightened up.

Mei smiled and continued.

"I knew that hair style looked familiar, as did that outfit and fighting style. You're actually Kushina's child, and an Uzumaki."

"I am," Naruto said, frowning. "But how did you know my mother?"

Mei sighed, and looked around her.

"This isn't the place to talk about that," she said, "too out in the open. We don't want to be attacked again. By the way these are two of my best ninja; Ao and Chōjūrō. Follow us, we'll take you back to the resistance with us."

Team Seven nodded after a short glance between themselves and Naruto resealed Toyotama-Hime into her scroll and placed it back in one of her two hip pouches.

Hopefully the rest of the way wouldn't be like what they'd just dealt with. The three were really looking forward to the time when they could leave the Land of Water and return home.

With those last thoughts the three chūnin followed after the older ninja towards safety.

* * *

**AN: So, you might recall a few chapters ago a bit of information at the end of the chapter on Naruto's family styles and one or two of her techniques. **

**This is going to be very similar. It will be a bit on the Seven Swords of the Uzumaki, which are as old as the Seven Swords of the Mist, though there is less known about the Uzumaki swords than the Mist Swords in the history books. The Uzumaki were a fairly secretive bunch. **

**~x~**

**_Toyotama-Hime_ ; literally meaning 'Luminous Jewel'.**

It is said to be the most illuminating of the seven swords and can absorb and use solar energy to strengthen it. It was last seen wielded by the Last Uzumaki heir, Uzumaki Kushina, before it is rumored to have reappeared during the Suna chūnin exams along with Hitokiri.

**_Hitokiri _; literally meaning 'Person Slayer', 'Man Slayer, or 'Human Slayer'.**

It was created with the darkest of chakra metal, and with the purpose to kill swiftly. Is said to absorb the blood and chakra naturally in ones blood to strengthen it. It was last seen wielded by the Last Uzumaki heir, Uzumaki Kushina, before it was rumored to have been seen again during the Suna Chūnin Exams.

Toyotama-Hime & Hitokiri were made for the clan heir, and next clan head and passed through the heirs.

That was until they were sent with Uzumaki Kushina as a parting gift, since it was assumed she would eventually have to relinquish her title as heiress onto her younger sister.

Though this was not commonly done, true, it was her father's decision as clan head and Shikigami, her mother's sword and one of the seven swords at that, would pass to her younger sister to continue the tradition.

**_Shikigami_ ; also read as Shiki-no-Kami, and some sort of Kami (god) represented by a small ghost. Battle spirits.**

The Shikigami is said to be able to summon skeletons as armies, a form of necromancy. In reality it isn't necessarily the sword itself that allows this, but the seals all seven swords were branded with during the forging process, and of course chakra.

It isn't even truly the dead that rise, but the mix of the seals and potent chakra and control that forms into skeleton soldiers that give the illusion of one summoning the dead.

**_Kogitsune ; _literally meaning 'little fox', and based on the legendary sword, Kogitsune-maru.**

Kogitsune is said to be able to cut through anything, even the densest chakra.

**_Amatsukitsune_ ; basically meaning 'heavenly fox'.**

The Amatsukitsune was said to be the lightest, but sharpest of the seven. Not much is known other than that, and it is possible that it is similar to Kogistune as they were commonly used together, much as Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri were.

**_Shikyō_; literally meaning 'four mirrors'.**

The sword has a mirror surface blade and is said to have the ability to predict a enemies movements through the surface.

**_Tenken_ ; basically meaning 'Heavenly Punishment' or 'Heaven Sword'.**

Said to judge the soul, can not cut flesh but chakra and the soul. Or at least, that is what is said, not many survived a meeting with this sword and it's wielder.

There were once nine swords, not just seven, but the last two were destroyed, even though it is said to be virtually impossible to destroy the swords.

Not much is known on how or when they were lost, just that they were reforged when re-creating Tenken which had been damaged during the same battle. It is rumored to be the reason it is said to not cut flesh but chakra and the soul.

By the time of the destruction of Uzu no Kuni, the only swords still with wielders were Shikigami, Kogitsune and Amatsukitsune. Shikyō and Tenken currently had no wielders, but two were training to take up the swords.

The swords were not seen during the battle of Uzu no Kuni, and all were deemed lost expect for Toyotama-Hime and Hitokiri which were seen during the Third War wielded by Uzumaki Kushina.


	20. Prelude 12 21

**AN: So, another chapter. **

**I want to thank everyone for reviewing, and warn everyone the next chapter is the massacre. Those who might be prone to crying, bring tissues. It might take me a while because of the emotional trauma of the chapter. I estimate about a week.**

**Also, at the end of this chapter is another AN, this time giving my reasons why Koji dies in the massacre.   
**

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 19: ****Prelude 12/21. **

"Sorry, it's nothing fancy," Mei said.

She walked through the long hall of the abandoned building the resistance began using as a base after the first failed Coup against the Mizukage.

The others following after her. Soon they came to the end of the hall and double doors.

"It's a safe place for you to plan and live while the war goes on, so that's what matters," Naruto said, and the three older Shinobi nodded, a level of respect in their eyes.

The respect was obviously because of her mature view of it and the fact they had seen them take on the Kiri-nin.

It was pretty certain the three had made chūnin the right way, and had the skill to back up their rank despite their young age.

Especially Naruto who unfortunately barely looked her age. When she was an adult some may think that an envious trait but to Naruto it was annoying.

Opening the door, Mei entered and the others followed after. There were a few others currently in the large room which had tables and chairs.

"Mei-sama," one of the younger occupants said in greeting.

Mei waved the girl off, though not in the annoyed way but in a cheerful polite way. It seemed Mei was the kind to generally smile a lot.

"None of that Ai, it's just Mei," she said. "These are Team Seven... I'm sorry I never got you names."

"Oh," Kasumi said, a faint flush of embarrassment on her face. "I'm Inuzuka Kasumi, and this my ninkin, Mizumaru."

Mizumaru barked twice in greeting, showing the claims of ninkin intelligence wasn't just rumors or exaggerated. Though any Inuzuka would tell them that.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said.

"I'm Uchiha Koji." Koji nodding in greeting.

"Oh, you have a bloodline, right?" the girl, Ai, asked. "I mean...I've heard Konoha has many clans with bloodlines..."

Koji looked at her and nodded.

Ai was a girl probably around their age, with long pale pink, almost looking white it was such a pale pink, and fair skin. Her eyes were pupil-less red, a strange color for Mizu no Kuni, Team Seven couldn't help but think.

"Ai is the only survivor of her family, one from the purges in Kiri," Chōjūrō said.

"She has a bloodline?" Naruto asked, looking at her and Ai looked down sadly and shook her head.

"No," she said, "it's nothing of the sort. My clan has always been rather good sensors, had an affinity for animals. Sort of similar to the Inuzuka...but it's not a bloodline."

Mei sighed.

"Unfortunately, the Yondaime Mizukage did not believe Ai's father. Her eyes, something all of her clan inherited are something not seen here in Mizu no Kuni, it was believed their strange coloring was part of their bloodline when in reality the clan just specialized in sensory and animals."

Team seven looked grim as they processed this.

"So he had them killed." Kasumi nearly growled.

"Yes," Ai said, "It was years ago though...I've come to accept it."

They could greatly respect the girl for that, even if they didn't think she should have had to deal with that.

They wished they could help more with Kiri's war, but thy were just one chūnin team, they couldn't do much to change the course of a civil war.

"I don't want to kick any of you out of here, but I need to discus some things with the Konoha team," Mei said, and the few people still in the room nodded, bowed slightly, and left.

"Now," Mei said, sitting down at one of the larger tables, probably used for meetings. "You wanted to know how I knew your mother, Naruto-san?"

"Just Naruto is fine, Terumi-san," Naruto said and Mei smiled and chuckled.

"I can say the same, Mei is fine, Terumi-san makes me feel old," she said, and waited as her guests, Ao and Chōjūrō sat down.

"You asked if I was related to Kushina-san, and in a way I am. The Terumi clan is a small one, or was at one point. Now I am one of the last remaining with the name. We came to Mizu no Kuni when Uzu no Kuni was destroyed, one of the few clans with a Kekkei genkai. The others with a bloodline limit all being larger, more influential, clans. Like the Uzumaki, or in Konoha you could think of your major clans for an example."

"So... I don't think I understand. How are the Terumi's related to the Uzumaki's?" Naruto asked.

Mei answered simply, "Cousins."

"A few centuries ago an Uzumaki married the first Terumi to come to Uzu no Kuni. At the time he was the last of a fairly larger clan from somewhere around earth and lightning country, though over time a few survivors, some of his younger cousins found there way there as well thanks to scouts from Uzu no Kuni. The Terumi's became a clan of their own, instead of my ancestor taking the Uzumaki name from his wife, which is sometimes known to happen. The clan remained small, as I said, and my own Kekkei genkai continued to pass along the clan as it grew, being a rather dominant elemental bloodline from the Terumi blood."

"So, we're cousins," Naruto said.

Mei nodded.

"Distant cousin, like I said, this was about a hundred years ago, give or take a few years. The Uzumaki blood isn't exactly as prominent anymore in me," Mei said.

"I was born in Uzushio not long before it was attacked and destroyed. My father sent my mother out one of the escape roots that many of the civilians and survivors took to escape the destruction, along with myself. My mother and I ended up in Mizu no Kuni, and eventually in Kirigakure no Sato. The Terumi clan really wasn't that well known, we were small from what my mother shared before her death. So no one really questioned the fact we appeared weeks after the fall of Uzu no Kuni."

Team Seven listened with rapt attention. Naruto knew there had to be some survivors of her mother's homelands somewhere, but to actually meet one here of all places.

Even if Mei didn't remember Uzushio being as she was just a baby upon it's destruction, it was still enlightening, and a bit overwhelming.

"I was young when I became a genin, it was around the same time that the Third Shinobi War began. I was a chūnin by the time I was twelve, and I met you mother in the war when I was thirteen. We fought, she won, but she didn't kill me. Despite being enemies, she refused to kill a child – her own words. The fact she knew and remembered the Terumi clan and it's connection, no matter how distant, to the Uzumaki I think made her decision easier," Mei explained.

"Wow," Kasumi breathed, trying to process everything heard. "That's..."

She didn't know what else to say, so she didn't say anything.

Mei nodded, smiling.

"Yes, we met in the field a few more times after that, but I didn't truly know Kushina very well. I remember though, she was a able to wield her katana's, the one you had out, Toyotama-Hime, and Hitokiri better than even the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. She was brutal in battle," Mei finished.

Naruto smiled almost sadly.

She didn't know a lot about either of her parents, but everyone always had more to say about her father. It was a relief to hear about he mother for once.

"Thank you for telling us, and helping us take care of those shinobi," Koji said, as he reached beside him for the scroll he'd taken off when he sat down, and reached it over the table to Mei. "Here is the scroll, as expected."

Mei looked at Ao and nodded, and the blue haired older man reached over and took the scroll.

"I wish to offer you sanctuary here until you're recovered enough to head back to Hi no Kuni," Mei said.

Team Seven exchanged looks before nodding.

"Alright," Koji said. "If it's alright."

Mei nodded and stood.

"I'll show you to a free room to stay in, and let you rest. I'll send Ai when dinner is served."

* * *

The three chūnin made plans to leave within the week, knowing they only had a month of allotted time to finish the mission and return to Konoha.

They had lost a week traveling to the location, and that left about a month before they were due back.

They thought of staying longer than a week, but they feared they would become too attached.

They had a mission, the mission was to deliver a important storage scroll... they had done just that. Staying longer and getting attached to the rebellion, and wanting to help them in their war would only complicate things.

They didn't exactly have that authorization from the Hokage, either.

Helping them as much as they could if something came up while they rested and recovered from any injuries they might have was one thing, but anything else would cause complications to their mission goal.

Koji had explained it better, but Naruto had never exactly been one for big words, despite her prodigy status.

It was like how she floundered when it came to written exams, they just had a way of causing her the lowest scores. Even she wasn't truly sure how to explain it.

During this time period Ai became something of their personal guide around the resistance, and the pale haired girl had gotten on wonderfully with Kasumi.

The two were opposites, but similar as they shared a common interest in Medical Ninjutsu.

What skills Ai had were just beginning levels, while Kasumi was a bit higher, low-intermediate if Naruto had to guess since she herself didn't know much about Medical Ninjutsu.

Not to say she knew nothing, but she mostly relied on good ol' fashioned first aid. With disinfectant, stitching of wounds and bandages.

It was how she'd survived some of the harsher times of her past, back when it was not always a good idea to seek medical attention.

She wished that the acknowledgment Konoha now gave her wasn't mostly pity and regret on their part. True, there were many now that could see her instead of the Kyuubi, which she was thankful for.

Her relationship with the Uchiha clan helped some as well, but the other half that acknowledged her either saw her parents, mostly her father, or just wanted to wallow in their own self pity for how they'd treated the Fourth's Legacy.

It was more than a tad annoying, but better than ninety-five percent of the village glaring at her day in and day out.

Moving on, Naruto had also taken to getting to know Mei as she was one of the last living connections – not matter how small – to her mother and Uzushiogakure.

Mei didn't know much about her mother, other than what she'd told her the first day, but she had offered to tell her everything she did know about Whirlpool Country when there was time.

During that week though, there hadn't been a lot of time.

There had been an attack by the Mizukage's shinobi the third day they stayed. Team Seven, unable to think they could have helped the resistance but instead did not as it was not their war, so they offered to help.

The battle lasted nearly an hour, the Mizukage sending out thirty shinobi. How he could afford to send out that many was a mystery to them.

Until they realized some weren't even shinobi but civilian sympathizers that agreed with the Mizukage's bloodline purges.

It was disgusting how low Kirigakure had sunk over the years and even some places in Mizu no Kuni.

It made Team Seven wonder if this was also some conspiracy by the Daimyo of Water Country seeing as he didn't seem to lift a finger to stop the Mizukage.

It was unusual for the Daimyo's to interfere with a Shinobi Village, nearly impossible, but there were circumstances. This seemed like one of them.

In the end the remaining enemies were forced back, loosing half of their forces. The Resistance had suffered some injuries and five fatalities.

Which wasn't bad if you had an army of hundreds at your disposal, but the rebellion didn't quite have more than one hundred, if that, before the attack.

Kasumi ended up being of great help with her knowledge and skill in healing, saving a few lives that might have been lost otherwise.

She had also been teaching Ai a few tricks of the trade, and given her a pretty common book she herself had read when she'd been beginning Medical Ninjutsu.

Why Kasumi still carried it around, Naruto wasn't sure, but knowing Kasumi it was probably for reference.

It wasn't anything Ai couldn't have found in Kirigakure, or other shinobi supply shops in Mizu no Kuni, if the war wasn't preventing quite a bit of trades with other countries, and Ai actually being able to wonder past the safety of the resistance.

Currently, Mei had explained that the Mizukage knew a general area of where the rebellion was, but didn't know the exact location.

Thanks to some genjutsu and fuuinjutsu from several members who had some skill in those areas the building was made even safer.

Naruto offered to place a stronger seal on the building that would alert them if hostile parties tried to enter. It was the same she'd placed on her own apartment building quite some time ago.

It was actually pretty basic, though a Uzumaki seal so it wouldn't surprise her if few knew it. Or if they did, realized how simple it was.

But then again, unlike others, fuuinjutsu was in her blood.

She had showed Mei how to use it properly, to activate and deactivate the seal on the building along with how to understand the seal which the first seal connected to in order to warn of hostile parties entering.

She warned that it might also go off if enough killing intent was let out within a few feet of the seal, since it was part of how it judged hostile parties from those of the rebellion.

On the last day Naruto finally got the time to asked Mei about the Land of Whirlpools, and what she knew about it.

"What do you know about Uzu no Kuni? I've read what I can find in books, but there isn't a lot of description on the land or village itself," Naruto asked.

"I was just a week old when it was attacked," Mei said as they leaned against the wall of the training room watching as Ai and Kasumi sparred.

"But my mother, she told me what she could. It was beautiful, the island was surrounded by whirlpools, there was only one known entrance in and out, though those brave enough could try and go around the whirlpools. There was a beach side, at the entrance, and it was very forested... like a tropical island."

Mei smiled, her eyes glazing as she thought of her own mother's words to her when she asked a similar question.

"There was other villages that were simply civilian based. Then there was the Hidden Village which one could find by following a river that ran through the center of the island. The water had small whirlpools in it, but once inside the village it become more of a stream, and crystal clear waters like a large flowing tide pool."

Naruto looked in awe and she grinned.

"It sounds beautiful," she said, and Mei nodded.

"I never got to see it, but from my mothers description it certainly was. I wanted to go there one day, but with the Third War, and then the Mizukage's decent into tyranny... there just wasn't any time."

"One day I hope to see it myself," Naruto said. "Maybe I can find out what happened to the other five swords as well."

Mei looked over at the shorter blonde and could understand her desire to know more about her mother's homeland and her hope to find the other swords one day.

She'd heard legends of the other swords and her mother had assured her they all existed.

Of course only Uzumaki's had ever wielded one of the seven swords, because they were made for the Uzumaki at the head of the clans request.

But that wasn't the point. The point was Naruto's desire to learn more about Whirlpool. Mei could understand it, she was of a very prominent clan in Whirlpool.

If she recalled her mother's words, the Uzumaki actually owned the island and while it didn't have a Daimyo because of this, the Shodaime Uzukage was treated as such because he was the founder and owner of the island.

This continued through the head of the Uzumaki clan, since not all Uzukage's had been Uzumaki.

The Terumi was just one small clan of many others in Uzushio, and she knew some of what they were called.

Reaching into her pouch Mei took out a storage scroll which had the Uzumaki Spiral on it, or the Whirlpool symbol since it had also doubled as the Uzushio village symbol.

"This was my mothers, it was a history book all children learned from in the Uzushio Academy. It lists the prominent clans in Uzushio, and the Uzukage's before it's destruction. I read it when I was around your age, and have no need for it anymore. Since you are an Uzumaki it's only right I give it too you."

Naruto's eyes widened as she looked from the scroll to Mei.

It wasn't something she had at home, even with everything her mother left her regarding the clan.

She supposed if her mother had read the same book, she'd read it while in Uzushio and hadn't brought it too Konoha with her.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. "What about future generations of Terumi?"

Mei chuckled.

"Thanks for the thought, but it's fine. Who says I can't just tell future generations myself. I've read it so many times I pretty much know everything it has to offer. It's yours now, Uzumaki-hime," Mei said, adding the suffix with a small smirk.

Naruto rolled her eyes, realizing the older woman must be teasing her.

Some could argue she was nobility, basically a princess, since Whirlpool Country hadn't truly had a named Daimyo, but was owned by the head of the clan and her ancestor.

Now days all countries had Daimyo, but Uzu no Kuni had been at it's strongest in anther era. Things had been different then.

If she'd read her family tree enough Uzumaki Mito, who'd married the Shodaime Hokage, was her great-great aunt, give or take a few greats.

Taking the scroll, Naruto smiled.

"Thank you, Mei," Naruto said. "If you ever need a favor, something I could do in the future, I owe you one."

Mei nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind, but it's not necessary."

* * *

It took them nearly another week to get back to Konoha after leaving Mizu no Kuni.

They were regretful they couldn't do more for the rebellion, but also glad to be out of Water Country. It turned out to be quite a bit easier to get out than to get in.

"Returning from the mission, Hokage-sama," Kasumi said as they stood facing the Hokage.

Naruto might have missed it normally, but the old man looked relieved to see them in a healthy state.

"Good, good," he began. "I take it there was no trouble?"

"We made it into Mizu no Kuni within a week and were nearly to Mizunami when we were attacked by a force of twenty, give or take, Kiri Shinobi. We fought, and resorted to a combination attack we have not until recently used in battle. It managed to kill most of the ones we hadn't already taken care of, but we failed to see the second wave. Thankfully, Terumi Mei and two of her shinobi saw and finished them off for us," Naruto said, her voice almost monotone as she gave her report.

Hiruzen took this all in, and was mentally relieved to hear of the rebellion leaders arrival to assist his chūnin.

He hoped they would have been able to make it out alive without her help, but he knew that a group of that many enemy ninja, with unknown rank, was dangerous.

It was dangerous for a group of jōnin even.

"I am relieved, you will turn in a written report of you mission by tomorrow and accept your missions pay then as well," Hiruzen said, and then smiled lightly. "Congratulations on your first B-rank, Team Seven."

The three of them smiled, some more apparent than others, and nodded, bowing in respect before leaving.

* * *

"Stupid Dobe, she doesn't even know what today is does she?" Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes as he helped his mother set out the dishes.

Mikoto gave her younger son a reprimanding look before she sat the cake down in the center of the table. It was layered cake, with lots of icing (much how Naruto liked cake) in white, orange and blue.

There was only three candles, mostly because it would have been to cluttered if she put nine on the round cake. No, three would do.

Bellow the candles was, _'Happy Birthday, Naruto' _in bright orange icing. Blue flowers decorated sparsely on the cake.

The cake itself was chocolate.

"Sasuke, Naru has just had a lot on her mind lately," Mikoto said. "I'm sure she remembers what today is."

There was a snort, and someone spoke.

"I wouldn't say that, Mikoto-sensei, Naruto probably doesn't realize what today is yet," Koji said. "That's why we sent Itachi after her, along with Kasumi."

"Is everything ready?" Fugaku asked, entering the room.

Mikoto dusted off her apron, though there really wasn't anything to dust off and nodded.

"I do believe it is," she said. "Hard to believe she's only nine and a chūnin already."

Sasuke grumbled slightly under his breath at the reminder, though he simply swore to himself he'd one day surpass her.

Fugaku smirked.

"She's her parents daughter, a prodigy. She's even beat Itachi out, becoming a genin and chūnin a year younger than him," he said. "She'll make a good wife for Itachi some day."

Mikoto sighed, knowing how much her husband put into feelings actually forming between their eldest son and Naruto. Mikoto wasn't so sure, but it had nothing to do with the inability for Itachi and Naruto to fall in love.

She knew that compatibility was there, she just had a feeling in her gut something was going to go wrong soon. And even if it didn't, that there was still a fifty/fifty chance of them breaking the contract.

She was aware the contract had been passed while Naruto was on her first B-rank mission, after much fighting on the council's part to not pass it.

In the end though they hadn't much of a choice, with Naruto's opinion on it and the contract guidelines being as they were.

The agreement was probably the first ever to have a clause in it that allowed a mutual breaking of it in the future.

She just hoped if Itachi and Naruto did go through with it they'd be happy together and with their choice.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but he was little disappointed that Naruto was arranged to marry Itachi. He'd never say that of course, and it confused him anyways.

The dobe was annoying, and the fact she was already a ninja only served to further that annoyance.

The fact his father actually had something good to say about the girl, almost seeming proud, added to it. He couldn't remember when his father had praised him or been proud of him.

Well, he supposed his father had been when he'd first gotten the Gōkakyū no Jutsu down.

"I'm home, and I brought Naruto with me," his brother called from the front door, breaking Sasuke from his thoughts.

Sasuke sat down, and smirked widely at the owlishly wide eyes the sunset blonde sported as she saw what was waiting in the room where they ate dinner.

"Happy birthday, Naru-chan!" his mother and her teammates called, while his father nodded with a slight smile on his usually composed, if not frowning face.

Itachi was also smiling, a change from his nearly emotionless look, and Sasuke gave his own half smile.

"Birth...day; it is today isn't it?" Naruto asked, blinking as she realized just what the day was.

She didn't know how she could have forgotten that. October 10th was always a boisterous day.

The Kyuubi festival was still held, but she hadn't truly had to hide away somewhere where others wouldn't stumble upon her for close to two years now. She felt safe either staying with Koji or even Mikoto-sensei or in her apartment.

This year she doubted many would try to find her, even those drunk ones.

To be honest her birthday hadn't been all that bad since she turned four – even her fifth birthday was an improvement compared to her toddler years.

Years which she only recalled because of her rather good memory, and the fact they were rather traumatizing events.

For a toddler to realize she was hated and people would take a chance to beat her if it was given.

There would always be those who tried, mostly drunks who had lost loved ones on that day to the Kyuubi, but those never found her after she'd learned how to hide, and then create seals to protect her home.

Trap seals were rather interesting to place.

They could be activated either upon human contact from those not tied into the seal by blood or chakra, or by her activating them with chakra; which was the usual form she used to make sure her friends didn't accidentally get trapped in one.

They weren't fatal but they could hurt assuming they stepped into the wrong seal array.

"Yes," Kasumi said, snorting. "Come on, sit down."

Naruto smiled gratefully and sat down in the last remaining seat, which was between Mikoto and Itachi.

"Dobe," Sasuke said, nodding at the blonde who looked amused and slightly annoyed at him.

"Teme," she snapped back, and Mikoto smothered a snicker, while the others had similar reactions.

Even Fugaku wasn't immune to being a little amused by the two antics.

"Okay, gifts first," Mikoto said, clapping her hands happily.

Though it wasn't exactly true for all Uchiha's, most were not so stoic or professional in their own homes. Naruto realized a long time ago many failed to look underneath the underneath when it came to the Uchiha clan.

They assumed they were stoic and basically cold people twenty-four seven, when in reality it was simply how they chose and were raised to compose themselves in public.

Especially for shinobi.

Not to say they were openly an upbeat, bright, smiling bunch even in their own home, but they were family oriented when in the privacy of their homes.

"Here, this one first. It's from everyone," Mikoto said, giving Naruto a wrapped scroll shaped gift.

Naruto smiled and accepted it, taring the orange and silver wrappings from it. It was indeed a scroll, with a Katon symbol on it.

"You have quite a few wind and lightning jutsu's, but only one fire," Fugaku began. "It would be a good idea to explore a few more of another element, and since you already have experience in Katon I chose this one. I also know you are not partial to water or earth elements."

Naruto flashed a fox-like grin, and nodded her thanks before saying, "Thank you, Fugaku-sama."

Fugaku nodded and Kasumi took another of the gifts and nearly shoved it across the table to her.

"Open mine, Koji, Sasuke and Itachi's next," Kasumi said, and Naruto chuckled.

Taking the blue wrapped gift, Naruto tore open the wrapping and smiled as she sat the photo album. It was covered in orange silk, and had the kanji for her name on the front, along with _'memories' _under that.

"Thank you, Sasuke, Itachi-Kun, Kasumi-chan, Koji-kun," Naruto said, and she flipped it open.

The first page was a picture of team seven.

Mikoto-sensei was standing behind them, smiling lightly. Koji looking lazily at the camera as if he'd never seen one or simply has no desire to think about what it was.

Kasumi had Mizumaru in her arms and was smiling widely, showing her sharper than normal canine teeth. Naruto stood on the other side of Kasumi with a smile, mischievousness apparent in her blue eyes.

"We pulled together and found all our best memories that were photographed," Kasumi said, and then smirked. "Turn to page ten."

Naruto raised and eyebrow and flipped to that page, barely taking notice of the pictures.

The second was of her fighting with Sasuke, or more like wrestling, with an annoyed Shisui and Itachi in the background.

The third was of her and Koji lounging on the ground, and watching the sky – the clouds most likely, there was something Koji had always found peaceful about gazing at the sky and clouds.

Something he got from his mother, Asami.

The fourth was of her and Kasumi giving Mizumaru a bath while Koji stood back from the shaking dog, trying to avoid getting hit with the water.

The fifth picture was of Koji, Kasumi, Mizumaru, her and Shisui, probably taken by Mikoto if she remembered that day correctly. She'd been seven then.

The sixth picture was of her grinning with ramen in front of her at Ichiraku's.

The seventh was of her looking extremely annoyed as she chased a butt naked Konohamaru around the Sandaime Hokage's home. It was one of her baby sitting days, Konohamaru was about three, or nearly three.

The next was taken the same day, but she was trying to take a bag of flour back from Udon and Konohamaru, while Moegi seemed to be laughing.

The bag had ripped and she'd been covered in flour. It was at that moment the picture had been taken by Koji while Kasumi laughed on the floor behind him.

The eighth was of her and the Hokage, but she'd stolen his hat and placed it on her head as she stood beside him. It had been taken on one of those days Hokage had given them a mission involving watching Konohamaru and his little friends.

They were bad on their own, but together they were little monsters (and she meant that in a completely loving, if not annoyed, way. She'd been called a monster enough in her life to be weary of using it to describe anyone).

The ninth was of her seventh birthday, and they'd snuck into the Kyuubi festival after buying a white porcelain mask with purple and orange marking that resembled a cat.

The picture was of her, Koji and Kasumi at the festival that night, taken by Mikoto.

Naruto was the only one wearing a mask, the purple and orange one her friends had gotten her.

Her kimono was formal and a startling red, like flames. It had ivory, orange and yellow designs, and the obi holding it together was a golden-yellow and ivory.

Her hair was the only thing visible about her features, and was dyed with pale blonde hair dye, which would wash out in a week or two, so it resembled the color of a Yamanaka.

It had been one of her best birthdays since she had gotten to enjoy the festival for the first time, and not had to deal with anyone realizing who she was.

The last, the one Kasumi wanted her to see was of her in Itachi's lap, under the large tree that was in the private training grounds.

She recognized it instantly as the day a few weeks ago when she'd been in the tree teasing Itachi with the pocky dangling from the wire attached to a stick.

She hadn't realized they'd taken a picture of that day.

Naruto blushed, her lips pressed together in a thin line in her embarrasment as she looked at the picture.

"You're cruel, Kasumi," Naruto said, and Itachi couldn't help but chuckle as he saw what the picture was of.

"What is it, Naru?" Mikoto asked and took the photo album after gaining Naruto's permission through a small nod.

Mikoto smiled at the picture and for once didn't think her son and Naruto would have any trouble in the future, assuming they didn't find someone else.

Fugaku looked over at what Mikoto was and couldn't help but smile as well.

Sasuke already knew what the picture was of, since he'd helped Koji and Kasumi put it together when they'd asked. Closing the photo album, Mikoto passed it back to Naruto and then grinned.

"This last gift is very... different, Naruto," Mikoto began. "What do you know of summons?"

Naruto blinked.

"Not much, I know Itachi can summon crows," she said. "I also read that my father was known to summon toads, like the sannin, Jiraiya."

Mikoto nodded and stood.

"That's right. Summons are animals, you've met some of them when you've gone to the abandoned city, Sora-ku, with Itachi and Sasuke to collect paw prints from the cats."

Naruto eyes widened.

"The ninneko, Hina and Denka," she said and Mikoto nodded.

"Very good, and yes. Hina and Denka and the other cats at the cats fortress are summons. They are actually just one branch of the summons. The cats have done things differently for a long time, many summons have different jobs for different summons. Messengers, warriors, the like. But the cats, take it a step farther. Sometimes the different... branches for lack of better term live away from the entirety of the clan."

"So...the cat fortress..."

"Is simply one level to the summon world of the cat contract. It's sort of difficult to understand, but beyond the fortress, covered in heavy genjutsu is the realm of the cats. So they aren't far from each other at all. The fortress is sort of like a guard. Hina and Denka are part of the ninneko, and similar to ninkin they are capable of being used in battle but are actually the trackers of the clan."

"I see, but why are you telling me this sensei?" Naruto asked and Mikoto smiled and began going through hand seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" Mikoto slammed her palm on the floor and Naruto saw purple design almost seem to glow on her arms, like a tattoo, but Mikoto didn't have a tattoo.

If she did, Naruto had never noticed one.

There was a bit of smoke and a large cat appeared. It wore a dark purple vest, and was sitting calmly, posed. It was a Bengal cat, a very light colored one, a silver-gray color she realized.

The cat's eyes were light yellow and slit like any other cat. Around its middle was a dark orange sash and a tantō hanging from it.

"Hello Mikoto, you called?" the cat asked, it's voice obviously female.

"Aino, this is the one I was talking of, Uzumaki Naruto," Mikoto said.

The cat's yellow eyes stared into her own blue ones as if judging her very soul and Naruto had to push the urge to fidget back.

"I see, a moment," Aino said and she jumped forward in the air, flipping. There was a bit of smoke and a object, a scroll fell from what seemed like thin air.

"How?" Naruto asked, eyes wide. "Where did that come from?"

Aino smirked, which almost looked strange on the feline.

"Cats are naturals with genjutsu, and of course we are also rather good with chakra, and ninjutsu. It is simply a skill of most cat summons, mostly the messengers, call a Bubun kūkan (subspace) or simply a subspace pocket. It's basically a personal dimension that one can store things in between realities. Very much what you would call a Time-Space ninjutsu."

Naruto blinked in awe and smiled, nodding.

"Can humans do that?" she asked, almost hesitantly.

"That depends," Aino said, shrugging. "And up to the cat sage since it is a cat clan secret."

Mikoto smiled and opened the contract, placing it in front of Naruto.

"You're parents were some of my greatest friends, Naru, and I owe them a lot," Mikoto began.

"You are also my student, and you, Koji and Kasumi have done me proud. I would offer the same to them, but the cats are extremely picky, and not overly fond of most humans. They most likely wouldn't get on with Kasumi because of her being an Inuzuka, and Koji will probably sign the crow contract, which is the original Uchiha summons when he is older. Though not all ninja gain summons."

Mikoto stopped, took a breath and continued.

"We have a sort of alliance with them, partially because of Nekobaa. It is how we came about it, when my great-great grandmother saved some of Nekobaa's relatives who just happened to have some of the kittens from the cat clan with them from death. It's been passed through my family line since, to the daughters, usually the eldest."

Mikoto smiled softly at Naruto.

"I don't have any daughters. If Sasuke desires he can sign it when he's older if he doesn't wish to sign the crow contract. Though, he could sign both if he wanted, I've given Itachi the same choice."

Itachi nodded, though he had turned the chance down. He was content with just his crows.

"Wait, people can have more than one summons?" Naruto asked, and Mikoto smiled.

"It's not common, but not impossible. Those who do usually have to make sure the two summons can get along, some contracts are extremely possessive and wont allow them to have more than one. It is not so normal for more than two, as far as I've heard because of the species having trouble getting along together," Mikoto explained.

Aino nodded.

"The cats are not that possessive, as long as it is not mice or dogs, we don't care," Aino said, nodding. "Though fair warning would be nice."

"Mice?" Kasumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aino snorted.

"It's a lost contract, but it did exist once upon a time. Annoying vermin, delicious to eat though."

Aino licked her lips (assuming what cats had were called lips...Kasumi and the others weren't sure exactly).

"Anyways, I wish to allow you to sign it as well," Mikoto said, and Naruto's eyes widened again.

They seemed to be doing that a lot recently, she thought momentarily.

"Seriously?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I am here and unless she called me to show off..." Aino trailed off, buffing her claws on her fur in such a human manner it could be funny.

"Of course, all you have to do is sign your name in blood and press a bloody thumbprint beside it," Mikoto said. "In order to achieve the boss summons, and I mean the head boss, not the one for the ninneko, you'll have to collect the certain paw prints, more importantly the ninneko boss, Nekomata."

Naruto slowly smiled and bit her pointer finger and thumb, drawing blood. With her pointer finger she wrote her name, and with her thumb she pressed her thumb print.

Aino smiled, bowed slightly, barely noticeable and Mikoto rolled the contract back up and Aino took it. Throwing it into the air it disappeared into what seemed to be nothing, but was actually the subspace it had been in before.

"I'll be sure to let Yozora-sama know of our new summoner," Aino said, and was gone seconds later in a puff of smoke.

Smiling, Mikoto sat back down.

"I'll teach you how to summon at a later date, for now lets sit down to eat," she said.

Naruto couldn't help but smile the rest of the day, it would be a day she'd remember forever. One of the few times she actually felt like she had a family.

She didn't realize how things were about to change in such a short time.

* * *

**AN: So, before I give reasons I want to apologize for any crappy spelling and grammar. I am getting ready to head to bed so I don't have time to reread it more than one. **

**Yozora means Night Sky, and is the boss cat's name. In case anyone was wondering. **

**I would also like to thank Dark Serpent Cat for his help when it comes to the cat contract. He was actually the one who gave me the idea of the using the cats. **

**Also the reason is basically word for word what I've told those few in PM's about my reasons for the not saving Koji. **

**Basically, I have thought of several ways to keep Koji alive but every time something comes along and kills him. Be it a rogue nin a few years later, the council or Itachi himself. **

** The point is, Itachi was ordered to kill _everyone_ in the clan. **

** No survivors, I believe the only reason he got away with Sasuke was because of the Hokage being able to protect him even a little from the Council and the Council coming to the conclusion that he could be manipulated into a more loyal Uchiha than Itachi himself. **

** As it is, the council in my opinion let it go because they saw a way to breed a new clan of loyal Uchiha into the village. Sasuke wasn't a ninja at the time and young, mold able. **

**We know how that turned around and bit the council in the ass; they hadn't counted on him defecting or Orochimaru coming for him.**

** Koji is a chunin, he's a liability in the councils eyes. Itachi would never be able to get away with sparing him, like he did Sasuke, the same for Mikoto. **

**Honestly, I am astounded by how many like Koji, as I never thought he'd get the fan following he has. **

**He was a character planned to die in the Massacre from the beginning, but after a while I had so many nearly begging for his life, and I hate to be cruel, so I have been trying to find a way to keep him in the story. **

** But as I said every way I find ends in his death one way or another. I thought of having him only seriously injured, but even that has him dying in the end because of meddling Council members and or Root. **

** Sasuke, of course is safe from any harm other than the mental trauma Itachi puts him through. **

**Not only is there a reason for Koji's death in regards to the plot, but it's just not realistically possible in anyway I can presently think of. **

** Death might not be the last we see of him in the future of the story. **

**After all, Koji does play a large part in the story being the first friend Naruto had and the reason she found a sense of belonging among the Uchiiha, and even if temporarily we may very well see Koji again. **

**I can't say how, for how long or why for that would be giving away the surprise and plot device, but eventually he'll return for a few chapters in one of the future arc. **


	21. What Have You Done?

**AN: So, I'm sure you all know what this chapter means. An end to an era. Hopefully you don't hate me to badly for Koji's behalf, I myself barely got through this chapter writing it. But it had to be done, and I've given my reasons. **

**Now, on to this incredibly sad chapter - to me at least. Also, the chapter title is taken from Within Temptation's song, What Have You Done. You might enjoy listening to it while reading the chapter, that's up to you****.**

**I am also sorry for any errors, I've read through it once but I am heading to bed so I'll have to recheck it after I wake up.**

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 20: What Have You Done?**

Naruto groaned as she landed on the hard ground, her face nearly smacking into the ground.

Sighing, Naruto rested her chin on her open plan, elbow resting on the ground under her.

"This will be the death of me," she muttered, and her eye twitched upon hearing the chuckles behind her.

Sitting up, Naruto looked to see Itachi and Sasuke, both chuckling at her misfortune. Itachi had a slight smile, though Sasuke's was clearly a smirk.

It didn't surprise her, they were rivals after all.

"Having trouble?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto sent him a half hearted glare before she stood. She smirked upon seeing where the cat now sat a feet away, licking it's paw.

Placing her hands together in a ram seal she gathered chakra and directed it towards the seal array the cat unknowingly sat on.

"Kusari Fuin (Chain Seal)!" she called, and the seal bellow the cat glowed.

The cat gave a squeal of shock as chains of what seemed like chakra came out and wrapped around it, tugging it to the ground where it laid.

The chains weren't tight, so Naruto knew it wouldn't hurt the cat. They were actually a seal her mother had begun, but never finished before her death.

it was meant to imitate her mother's special chakra chains, just not as powerful. It was a seal meant to trap someone, or in this case the cat.

"Interesting method," Itachi said, smirking slightly.

Naruto smiled and walked over to the cat. Placing her hand on the scruff of it's neck, she released the seal and picked it up.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked, not really sure if she was talking to herself, the cat or the two Uchiha's behind her.

"Impressive," Itachi said, and Sasuke nodded hesitantly in agreement.

Even he had to admit the dobe's skill with fūinjutsu was astounding for her age. Didn't mean he had to like it, but maybe if he asked she might be willing to help him train.

* * *

"No change then?" Hiruzen asked, his face rather grim.

"Barely. My father seems to be trying to...appease the clan. Convincing them that he believes with the betrothal with Naruto things will change for our clan."

Hiruzen nodded, removing his pipe.

"But they are not accepting it."

"Some of them, maybe, the majority... no."

Hiruzen sighed, this was a nightmare. Had he known Naruto would grow so close to the Uchiha clan he might have never encouraged her relation to them. He may have placed her on another team, despite wanting her to have a friend and knowing Uchiha Koji could teach Naruto the things about emotions and friendship he could not.

If he had realized how oppressed the Uchiha were becoming since the Kyuubi instead of turning a blind eye, maybe this would never have happened.

Alas, it was, and he feared it too late to stop it.

He had hoped, no prayed, that the contract betrothing Naruto to Uchiha Itachi would settle things. That it would show the Uchiha they were indeed part of Konoha, and that they no longer had to live behind stone walls in the Uchiha district.

At the same time he knew it wasn't so. There were many who wished to oppress the Uchiha, and the first few years after the attack the Uchiha were treated nearly as bad as Naruto, by Shinobi at least.

To those on the civilian council it was a mix.

Sometimes he felt they wanted to control the Uchiha, so in their eyes they could do no wrong. Despite believing the clan had the ability to control the Kyuubi with their eyes, and probably had that fateful night.

He knew sometimes damage done, could not be undone; even by promising a prodigal heiress of two clans to the heir of said clan.

He'd heard his predecessor call it the Uchiha curse of hatred.

"Do you have an idea of when they plan to move?"

The masked ANBU frowned, not that he could see this.

"October 28th. From what I can pick up it was the date planned nearly a year ago."

"Don't do anything yet, Itachi, not until I give the order. I wish to try and talk to Fugaku once more, maybe the rest of your clan as well. I don't want this to end in bloodshed, god knows Naruto doesn't need this sort of tragedy."

Itachi's shoulder seemed to stress and stiffen at his words, and he nodded, bowing once.

"As you wish, Hokage-sama."

The weasel masked ANBU left, leaving Hiruzen to his thoughts.

_'I hope I can fix this. If not...'_ he sighed, head bowed._ 'Naruto, forgive me.' _

Unbeknownst to him, a very well hidden ROOT ANBU was listening to every word. This had been what he was waiting for.

* * *

He'd outdone himself, he had to admit.

With Shisui's eye he had been able to copy the Hokage's signature to a 't' and get the Hokage seal as well.

It had taken careful planning, but after his ROOT ANBU had returned with the most recent news he knew he had to act.

Hiruzen was getting soft in his old age.

He was no fool, he had realized when Fugaku had brought up an arranged marriage between his eldest son and the jinchūriki, that there was only a small chance the coup he knew the Uchiha were planning would be stopped.

There were already too many Uchiha who craved justice for how they felt they'd been treated since the Kyuubi attack, before that even.

He hadn't wanted to resort to a massacre, but Hiruzen was placing the village in untold danger.

There was a reason the Uchiha was so well known, why they were strong, and why they had joined the Senju clan to build the Leaf Village.

Danzo took no pride in passing this order, and he knew his old teammate would realize sooner or later just who had gotten it passed.

He had no doubt Uchiha Itachi would go to the Hokage after the deed was done. He also had his suspicions that the boy would not kill his brother.

He did wonder briefly about the brother of Uchiha Shisui. The boy could be of use to him in the future, but the chances of his survival laid with Itachi.

He'd tried to get the boy a mission during the time of the Massacre, which should have been happening any time now, but there had been no time and a current lack in missions. There was also the fact he doubted the boy would be manipulated by him easily.

As it was, he had already passed the order onto the Uchiha prodigy.

His order were clear; kill everyone, none were to be spared, and if anyone gets in his way... kill them too.

"Danzo-sama," a small monotone voice spoke, stepping from the shadows.

The war-hawk looked over at his shinobi and nodded.

"Yes?" he asked.

"There seems to be someone with the Uchiha boy."

"Hmm, which one? You'll have to be more specific," Danzo demanded.

The ROOT ANBU bowed, and said, "Uchiha Itachi, sir, it seems he is not alone in his mission."

Danzo frowned, and nodded.

"Leave it be," Danzo said. "The boy will complete his mission, he is undeniably one of the most loyal shinobi of the leaf. Though... he still has quite a bit to learn. He is only thirteen, so it is to be expected..."

Danzo's eyes narrowed.

Uchiha Itachi was only thirteen years old, but he was a powerful shinobi. The fact he suspected him to have awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan upon Uchiha Shisui's death added to this.

After this the boy could grow to be a great threat. Especially since the truth either came out about why the Uchiha were killed, or the boy tried to spare his clan the shame and left to become a missing-nin, taking the truth with him.

He doubted he'd have the chance to use Uchiha Sasuke, placing him in his root, if the boy was half as smart as he was led to believe. Hell, with the Namikaze-Uzumaki heir around he doubted he'd get the chance even if Itachi were dead.

The girl had loyalty in spades, just as much as Itachi himself. She saw the Uchiha as her family, having never had a chance to know one before she met them.

She'd most likely protect Sasuke with her life, assuming Itachi indeed left his younger brother alive.

In the shadows another man watched this all, orange mask covering his features, a black cloak with red clouds. The mask itself held a genjutsu of sorts that hid what features showed.

His hair for example, while the mask was on it was cut short, but if he removed it you would see he had long hair. It seemed he only had one eye, but that was not the case. He simply chose to show one eye.

It was clear the man was an Uchiha. Yet the heavy genjutsu hid him, even from the likes of Danzo.

_'Interesting, but in the end Danzo has simply ensured my own plans. The Uchiha have the right idea now, but too little too late. They should have listened to me before they betrayed me, but they'll reap what they sowed now.'_ Madara thought, thinking of the shadow clone he'd left with Itachi.

"You play a dangerous game, Danzo," Madara spoke, only stepping slightly from the shadows and genjutsu that hid him.

The war-hawks eye widened as he turned to glare.

"Who are you, show yourself completely!"

Madara laughed.

"No, I quite like where I am," he said. "I simply wished to see just what sort of threat you could become."

"Oh?"

Madara nodded.

"For others, you may prove to be entertaining. Quite the manipulator, but you are indeed not the threat I believed. I guess I should thank you though, your order has made my own plans so much simpler."

With that Madara was gone in seconds, Danzo hadn't even notice how exactly he'd left.

* * *

Naruto jumped back to avoid her best friends attack, only to have to spin to the side when he used a shunshin to bridge the space between them.

She almost hadn't noticed in time.

"Dodging won't get you very far, Naru," Koji said, smirking as he continued his front assault with punches, kicks, and other such strikes.

Naruto took a few, but was fast enough to dodge the rest. She was quick, speed had always been a strong skill to her, but Koji had always been just a bit faster.

His shunshin was already incredibly good, in a few years he'd surpass Shisui at this rate.

Coming out of her thoughts, Naruto noticed the kunai Koji now had in his hand, coming straight at her. She wouldn't be fast enough to dodge, so she went for plan B.

It was a technique she had learned from Itachi, but modified to suit her needs. There was actually two, a genjutsu, and a clone technique.

Itachi used crows for both, since it was his summon animal, but she hadn't wanted to copy the technique exactly. She wanted something that suited her more, so she'd modified them.

She had wanted to use something that had the same effect that Itachi's crows did, so she'd decided on something simple. Butterflies.

She called her techniques the Chō funjin Genjutsu (Butterfly dust Genjutsu), and the Chō Bunshin no Jutsu (Butterfly Clone Technique).

Coming from her thoughts she knew she had just enough time to create one of the Bunshin and switch places with it using a well timed Kawarimi.

Koji frowned as his kunai sunk deep into Naruto's chest only for her to smile in an oddly creepy way, and burst into a colony of butterflies that ranged from black, to red, to orange, to white and a mix of all four colors randomly.

Koji realized too late what she'd done and felt the blade of a kunai at his neck a second later.

"I win this time, Koji," Naruto said from behind him and he sighed, a small smirk appearing.

"Come on, we should go. Mom wants you to stay for dinner tonight," Koji said and looked at the sky. "It's getting late as well."

Indeed, the sky was darkening as late afternoon began turning to dark.

Placing her kunai back in its holder, she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. The moon was already beginning to show, but it was so faint she only noticed it since she was staring up at the sky so intently.

"Come on, we shouldn't make your parents wait," she said and grabbed his arm and began pulling him along.

* * *

Naruto and Koji realized something was off when they entered the Uchiha district and found it eerily silent.

Koji actually lived rather close to the entrance, off some way from the main streets but it still shook them a little.

Once, they were sure they heard a shout of some sort, but it was so quick, muffled that they shook it off as their imagination.

Possibly someone training and involved in an accident. It happened more often than many would want to admit.

By the time they'd come across Koji's home they knew they had been wrong.

The first clue was the quietness of the neighbors and the open doors. Naruto was also sure she was beginning to smell blood, but her sense of smell had played tricks on her before.

She breathed, "Koji, something is wrong."

Koji's face was set in stone as he looked at his families open door, and entered. Turning they were both seeing the blood splattered around immediately.

"No," he muttered.

Naruto gasped as he took off further into the house, yelling his parents names, eyes wide.

She tried to grab him, tell him it wasn't safe. That the killer could still be there, but she was too late.

She understood his lapse in judgment, this was his parents after all. He'd already lost his brother, she didn't know if he could stand to loose his parents as well.

But she still couldn't shake the worry in the pit of her stomach.

Running after him she noticed he had stopped in the doorway to the living room area, and she nearly tripped at the scene that met her.

Her hand flew to cover her mouth, her eyes bulging out, tear quickly making her eyes mist over.

Inside both Asami and Kuro were on the ground in awkward positions, and both had what she knew was wounds from a sword of some sort. She thought it might be a wakizashi or tantō.

"Tousan, Kaasan," Koji muttered, his fist clinching at his side.

"Koji, we have to go get someone. Who knows if the one responsible stopped here," Naruto said, grabbing his arm at the bicep and pulling him back towards the exit.

At first he didn't want to go, but soon his teared up eyes narrowed sharply in anger and desire for retribution. It was almost frightening to Naruto, but she pushed it aside.

She too wanted to find who had done this.

As they left the house they took only seconds to check around and sure enough there was blood in each home along the way, and now that they actually looked small blood splatters around the streets and on buildings.

As they got deeper into the compound, bodies laid in the street. Some hadn't been there when they'd entered, they realized with horror.

As the got closer to what Naruto now realized was Mikoto-sensei's home she collided with a dark figure, and nearly lost her balance if not for Koji catching her.

"Huh?" she gasped, and then looked up to see the Sharingan eyes of Itachi.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, and let go of Koji's arm to move closer to Itachi.

"Itachi-kun, you have to get help. Someone is attacking..."

"Naruto," Koji said coldly, his eyes narrowed and red, but not from crying, but from activating his bloodline. "Get away from him."

Naruto stopped short and turned to look at her friend.

"W-what?" she asked. "Koji, this is Itachi, he can help us. We have to get help."

"Naruto, look at him closely," Koji snapped, his teeth grinding together.

Naruto stared at the raven haired boy in shock, and gulped on reflex. She was almost visibly trembling. Not wanting to turn around, and find out what Koji had seen that she had not.

Slowly she inhaled and turned to look at one of her best friends, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

Once she faced him she realized he was dressed in his ANBU armour, not exactly unusual, but the red stains on him was.

He always cleaned up after a mission before being seen by anyone, and he hardly ever got blood on him anyways. When he did it was never this much.

There was even a few speckles of it on his face, and his face was so emotionless it was terrifying.

It was like a spear of ice through her chest, and her eyes traveled down his right arm, having noticed the missing ninjatō from his back sheath. In his hand was the blade, which was dripping blood.

"It-Itachi..." she muttered breathlessly, her eyes widening with realization. "No."

"You shouldn't be here, Naruto," he said slowly, his voice never showing any emotion. "Leave, do not interfere."

Naruto chocked on any words she could say, and felt herself being yanked back by Koji - who had taken a kunai from his own weapon holster.

"YOU BASTARD!" he yelled in rage, and shot forward with speed she hadn't seen Koji use before.

It was as if his rage was allowing him to amplify his own abilities, either that or he was using chakra to gain that much more speed.

Naruto was still in shock as she saw the two blades strike each other, and Itachi go on the defense against Koji.

"I wish you wouldn't fight me." She heard Itachi say, never raising his voice or changing the tone.

"You killed them! The clan, why!?" Koji demanded as he fought with Itachi.

Itachi's eyes seemed to soften, if only for a second, before he had disarmed Koji. Forcing him back with skilled swings of his blade.

"To test my abilities... and because it was the choice laid before me," he said.

Naruto's eyes widened before she sprang into action and pushed Koji out of the way of a swing that may have beheaded the boy.

Naruto landed on top of the stunned Uchiha, rolled off, jumping to her feet. Seconds later she was bringing out Toyotama-Hime from it's seal, before falling into a stance in front of the boy she was so close to.

For now she was content saying she loved the older boy like a best friend, maybe a cousin, because she'd found it almost too weird to say she loved the boy like an older brother when they were betrothed to each other.

Even if the love she had for him was only platonic currently, and that probably wouldn't have changed until she was much older.

Assuming they had married she could have steadily changed her view on him, and she was already getting used to the change, which was why this was such a hard blow to her.

Maybe, subconsciously, she'd begun to like Itachi in more than a platonic way.

She'd go so far as to say she was beginning to love him.

Despite her age, she'd been through so much, and grown up mentally so quickly, that she tended to develop feelings quickly as well.

Sometimes it just took her a while to figure them out.

"I won't let you do this, Itachi," she said, her voice cracking near the end.

Itachi looked at her and almost as if hesitant moved forward, blade raised to attack.

The two clashed seconds later, and Naruto tried to keep Itachi's blade from breaking through her defense, but Itachi had more experience then her. Not exactly in Kenjutsu, but as a Shinobi, period.

He also had the Sharingan and was faster than her, if only by a little.

"Naruto," Koji muttered, getting to his feet, his hand going to his side which had a rather deep gash in it from Itachi's ninjatō.

He hadn't even noticed he'd been injured until then.

"Don't make me have to hurt you, Naruto, just give up," Itachi said as his blade met Toyotama-Hime when it came down to possibly cut him in half, or try to.

Naruto glared, forcing tears back.

"I won't... I won't give up," she nearly hissed.

Itachi's eyes darkened and his face became even grimmer, before his blade slid down Toyotama-Hime seeming to twist around the blade close to the guard, and her katana was sent out of her hands.

Naruto's eyes widened as she saw Itachi's blade coming towards her, and then she felt blood fly onto her face, but she felt no pain besides where her butt had met the ground.

Standing above her, his back to Itachi, was Koji; his eyes back to the dark gray of his birth.

"Naru... run," he said, before he collapsed onto his knees and fell.

He would have fallen face first onto the ground if not for Naruto catching him, and turning him over to lay in her lap.

Tears flowed from Naruto's eyes as she stared at the closing eyes of her best friend.

"Ko-Koji!" she exclaimed, the hand on his right shoulder shaking him as if to wake him up.

She wasn't sure if he was dead or alive, but she slowly narrowed her eyes and placed him on the ground, taking only a moment to notice the dark blood that coated her right hand which had braced his back.

"What have you done?" she asked, looking over to Itachi, who barely seemed phased.

She stood and without thinking charged him, seeing only red in her anger. She felt chakra stir inside her, and she knew it was not her own.

Itachi had to stop his own surprise when he noticed Naruto's eyes become slitted like a fox, but remain a bluish color. As if she was just beginning to tap into the foxes chakra.

He couldn't allow that, he had a job to finish. Koji was fatally injured, it may take a few minutes but he'd bleed to death.

Naruto was just powerful enough and most importantly, unpredictable enough, she might be able to stop him. If he gave her the chance.

He didn't want to hurt her, he would admit she was one of his precious people. He was pretty sure his feelings were of platonic love, and would stay that way.

If this had never happened he also knew his feelings could change, he would be stupid not to see he could love Naruto, but that wasn't going to happen in this life time.

Maybe in another life.

Itachi quickly moved from the wild punch, allowed her only a few more swings before he knew what he had to do.

Naruto was slowly coming out of her rage, trying to over come the bloodlust Kyuubi's chakra - which was beginning to build inside her and come to surface - was placing her under.

The first rule Mikoto-sensei had taught them was that anger blinded you in a fight.

It could be fatal.

She was too late though, she realized as she felt a sharp metallic pain through her chest and she stopped short in her next move.

She looked down, noticing the blade first, and the arm holding it, and traveling up to Itachi's face. Her blood came from her mouth seconds later, quite a bit at that, and she knew it was over.

She'd failed, she could feel the wound had hit her such a spot it would take a miracle to survive.

She barely noticed the short scream she let out as the blade was pulled from the area between her breast – or lack there of since she was only nine and just beginning to develop anything breast wise.

She coughed up more blood, sure now the blade had actually hit her heart, even if not completely. There was no way she'd live through this. She barely heard the sound of her name being yelled lowly behind her.

Koji, she thought with a slight smile as she fell to her knees. He was alive, at least for now.

"Itachi," she said, looking at him as her eyes dulled.

He was staring back at her, his sword arm shaking, and she could see the tears gathering in his eyes, though he tried to hide it.

_'There is more to this isn't there, Itachi?'_ she thought to herself, and she fell onto her side awkwardly, her hair fanning around her, some getting coated in blood that ran under her from her wound.

"Forgive me, Naruto, I never wished for this," she heard Itachi whisper into her ear, though she never noticed he had knelt beside her.

The last thing she was aware of before darkness enveloped her was Itachi pressing a light, chaste kiss to her forehead.

It was a bittersweet gesture, one which begged for forgiveness, or regret.

As Itachi stood, he looked from Naruto to Koji and knew he couldn't finish his best friends brother off. He barely could hurt him to begin with, and Koji wouldn't last much longer with the blood loss anyways.

Said boy was trying to move towards Naruto, whose eyes remained open and a dull gray color as the light and life had left the blue orbs.

It would haunt Itachi for years to come.

With that he left to finish his mission.

"Naru..." Koji gasped, as he moved over to his best friend.

She didn't seem to be breathing, and there was so much blood. He grimaced when his hand came into contact with it as he practically crawled towards her. He collapsed over her, and turned her on her back after he slowly pulled himself up.

"Please...wake up," he said, his hand on her chest as if to start CPR, but he knew it was useless.

CPR would only worsen her condition at this rate, and loosing the will and energy to move, Koji fell beside her, turning on his own back.

"Curse you, Itachi," Koji muttered, and he was aware seconds later of a shadow falling over him and Naruto.

"Hmm, I see he left you alive," a deep voice said, and he turned his head to see a tall figure with an orange mask.

The man's voice seemed to darken as he spotted Naruto, eyes open and staring blankly at the dark sky and moon.

"That foolish boy," the man hissed and knelt down beside the Naruto's body.

Koji had a feeling the man was talking about Itachi, since he obviously wasn't talking about Koji or Naruto herself.

Koji's eyes widened as the man reached out for the girl.

"D-don't touch her!" he yelled.

The man looked at him and stiffened for a split seconds before shaking his head.

"Don't interrupt, It'll only take a moment, then I'll get to you," the man said, and Koji noticed the Sharingan eye staring back at him.

He gasped, wondering who this could be.

He watched helplessly as the man stared into Naruto's dull eyes and his eye began to spin momentarily.

* * *

Kyuubi was in a fit, or the temper tantrum of all temper tantrums.

His container had gone and gotten fatally wounded, so wounded that he wasn't even sure he could save the wench.

The sword had pierced the side of her heart, not to mention other things. He'd woken upon the Uchiha boy's _'death'_ and decided to help the girl along.

With her age he could only give her so much chakra, it was unfortunate the same could be said for the kind that healed her.

She'd never been hurt this badly before, so he'd never had to worry about it before. Right now, he knew she was basically dead.

The only thing keeping her soul from the other world was his will to live, and the steady flow of chakra he was sending to try, key word being _try_, to heal the damage.

For all intense and purposes though, she was as dead as door nail. Her heart wasn't even beating, he had about three to five minutes before it was impossible to revive her, and he was sent to the abyss.

If he got lucky he might be released because the seal was still only nine years settled, but he wasn't taking that chance.

"How quaint," an overly familiar voice said. "I'll hand it to Namikaze, he knew how to set up a seal."

Turning from his work, Kyuubi growled at the person on the other side of the cage. It wasn't the brat, but a man he knew very well. Too well.

"**MADARA!"** Kyuubi roared, for a moment forgetting to send chakra to his container. **"HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE!" **

Madara wagged an finger at him.

"Aw aw aw, now pet, you wouldn't want to loose the girl completely would you? I'd say you have about three to four minutes left before she passed."

Madara smirked, his eyes flashing.

"Do get to it. I have plans for you, and the girls survival is key to them."

Kyuubi glared, and took a swipe with his claws, getting them through the bars, yet the man he most hated was too far away.

With a laugh the cursed Uchiha disappeared, and Kyuubi was left with the realization the girls soul was leaving her body.

"**OH, NO YOU DON'T, BITCH! I AM NOT DYING IN THIS SEWER WITH YOU!"** he roared, sending out his chakra at a heavier dosage and anchoring her soul back into her body slowly.

Unluckily, he couldn't heal her injuries completely, not with the amount of chakra he was restricted to, unless he wanted to kill her through chakra poisoning.

Her body just wasn't old enough to handle that kind of demonic chakra yet.

Unknowingly, he activated a long forgotten Dōjutsu to all but the now dead Uzumaki clan by helping her cheat death.

* * *

It only seemed like seconds before the man let Naruto fall back onto the ground, almost gently, though there had been no change in her condition.

He had no idea what the man had done to her.

He himself was having a hard time keeping consciousness. His eye sight was blurry as he saw the masked man stand up, and step around Naruto to gaze down at him.

He barely noticed the glint of metal as the man pulled a sword of some sort of his own out.

"Pity," the man began, positioning the blade. "You remind me of a brother I once had."

Koji barely screamed as the sword swung out, and over his eyes, which he closed on reflex once the blade got close.

"Count yourself lucky, boy. You may survive," the man said, and he could barely make out the blur of a blade from the blood filling his damaged eyes.

He was surprised he wasn't completely blind, but the wound hadn't been meant to be extremely deep. He gasped as the sword cut deeply into his gut.

The man chuckled darkly.

"I never said the chances were good."

With that the world turned to black.

* * *

It was rather late when Sasuke entered the district.

He was surprised when his father wasn't there to berate him for being late, extremely late since it was almost completely dark, the only light coming from street lights and the full moon above.

His quick walk turned slow as he noticed how quiet and dead the district seemed, and he began to get concerned when he noticed blood, though at first he wasn't sure what it was.

Looking back towards the streets before him he took off in a fast jog, near run.

He stopped dead upon noticing the corpses laying around, and he began to shake as he began slowly walking through the streets.

His mind ran with unanswered questions. What had happened? Who had done this? Was his parents and Itachi alright?

Looking around his breath stopped completely as he noticed two bodies he recognized almost instantly. One was almost undoubtedly dead, and the other he wasn't so sure of.

Naruto was the first he saw, her blonde hair with blood running through it something that was noticeable even from a distance.

Pale skin, unusual since her skin usually had a nice tan to it, and her eyes. Her eyes scared him the most, they stared straight ahead, as if piercing his very soul yet they were dull and lifeless.

Dead.

There was a wound in her chest, like someone had stabbed her.

Beside her was her teammate and best friend, Koji. A distant cousin of his own, and he had the worse injuries.

He couldn't see his back, but he saw blood had run under him so he assumed there was a wound there, and his eyes had been slashed, though they were closed so the damage to the eyes themselves was unknown.

There also looked to be a wound in his gut. If he wasn't dead he'd be surprised, but Sasuke had no time to check on either, he had to find help.

He had to get home!

With that thought Sasuke turned and ran, a bit guilty that he couldn't stop to see if there were any survivors, or if Koji and Naruto had truly been dead.

He missed the sudden jerk of Naruto's still body, which had a subtle red outline to it, and her eyes beginning to flash between dull blue/gray to void like black that covered the pupil, iris and whites of her eyes.

* * *

Naruto gasped for air as her eyes widened, and the red outline around her body faded to nothing.

She was sore, her chest felt like tenderized meat, and her vision spun for a few minutes, but it was sharper than she remembered it being before.

Strange, she thought as she turned over slowly, only to come face to face with Koji, who looked very much dead. Gasping sharply, she felt tears come to her eyes and slowly reach over to feel for a pulse.

She couldn't feel one.

Moving with pain evident in her features, though her black eyes were emotionless, almost soulless looking; like a demon.

The fact they shined with tears gave them a morbid, almost horrifying look.

Naruto lowered her ear onto Koji's chest and listened. It was faint, barely there, but he was currently alive.

She cursed herself for not knowing any medical ninjutsu, and said a quiet prayer for her friend before she stood shaking.

Turning towards where she had a feeling Itachi would be she began to move in a fast jog, almost run. It jarred her injured chest, which slowly weep blood.

She had an idea why, the Kyuubi never gave her much chakra, and she figured it was because she wasn't old enough to handle much.

Most of her wounds were not this bad in the past. Itachi's sword had went into her chest, priced a part of her heart and out the back.

She wouldn't be surprised if he'd gotten other organs that were around that area.

The fox must have used every amount available to heal her and bring her back, because she was no fool, she knew she had died for close to five minutes, if not six.

It was only thanks to Kyuubi she was alive now, and he might also be the reason she'd avoided brain damage from being dead so long.

She was pretty sure the time limit to resuscitate someone was three or so minutes.

If she wasn't careful she could pull her wounds all over again and bleed to death. As it was she had lost a majority of her blood, and the Kyuubi could only heal so much.

It could heal blood lose, but only marginally. She only knew these things from her mother's journals, and experience.

The blonde was pulled from her thoughts by a high scream that came from Itachi's, and she had no choice to pick up her speed.

To her surprise she felt as if her speed had increased from what it usually was, or maybe everything was just moving by her in slow motion? Neither made much since.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed as loudly as she could as she entered the main family home and saw Sasuke on the ground, and Itachi standing there.

As she came to Sasuke's side she saw Itachi's eyes widen, and then soften as if in relief before he narrowed his them.

"N-naru?" Sasuke muttered out, both as if he wasn't sure if he wasn't imagining things, and some other emotion she couldn't place currently.

Turning back to glare at Itachi, who was staring once again wide eyed, she noticed her own eyes reflected by his crimson ones.

She gasped, they were completely black, an almost reflective void like black. There was no white or other colors anywhere to be seen.

_'What...what is this?'_ she thought to herself, but had no time to do more since Itachi gave one last look and left.

It was seconds later she noticed Fugaku and Mikoto-sensei dead, Fugaku draped over his wife.

She choked back a sob and was startled when Sasuke clawed his way to his feet. She watched in surprise when he grabbed the discarded kunai, and taking off after his brother.

Naruto grunted, stood and took off after the other boy, clutching at her aching chest wound as she went. She was slower now, and almost stumbling.

When she finally reached Sasuke he was staring at Itachi's retreating form, though she had caught the sight of tears falling from Itachi's eyes as he leaped away.

"Sasuke," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He was an inch or two taller than her, much to her annoyance.

Sasuke turned slowly, his eyes wide as he looked at Naruto. Her eyes... they were the first thing he noticed. They were black, like an abyss.

They were rather frightening at first and the fact he was sure she'd been dead when he'd found her with Koji made his mind race.

How was she alive?

He didn't know and he didn't care, Itachi hadn't taken everyone away. He may not show it often, but she was his best friend, and rival.

He wasn't sure how he would handle being utterly alone.

She began to fall, her face pale as he caught her. He realized she was still wounded, though it seemed to be partially healed, at least on the outside. He wasn't so sure about any wounds on the inside.

"Naruto," he said, and gritted his teeth.

He didn't understand, why had his brother done this. Why?

Naruto looked up at him and he noticed her eyes were back to being blue, but were not the usually vibrant bright blue that put the sky to shame. They were duller.

"You're chakra, flare it. Call for help. Koji... he might still be alive. There might be survivors," she muttered.

Sasuke felt a flare of hope but could not let himself believe in it too much. He knew the chances were slim to none by now. He was lucky Naruto was even conscious, or alive.

Doing as she asked, Sasuke flared his chakra as sharply, brightly and as much as he could.

He was only able to do this once before the strain of his brother's mental assault, and the massacre forced him unconscious.

When the ANBU found them, both where unconscious. Sasuke was draped slightly over Naruto, seeing as he'd been holding her when he collapsed.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, had never felt so old before now.

He'd lived and seen a lot, but this was a tragedy not seen since the Kyuubi attack.

He'd been beyond shocked when he'd caught wind of someone attacking the Uchiha, but before he could do anything Itachi had arrived. He was bloody, and it was apparent he had been the culprit.

At first it seemed the boy was reporting after a successful mission, and with dread in his heart he realized Itachi believed he was.

Itachi was a prodigy, but he hadn't been expecting someone to flawlessly forge the Hokage's signature and seal. When he'd seen the mission scroll he'd known it wasn't one of his.

It was flawlessly forged, true, but he knew what he signed. He made a point to always read documents, it was one reason paperwork took so long and was the life long bane of all Kage's.

The number one rule of Hokage (or any Kage); know what you sign.

There was only one person he could think of with the skill to do this. An Uchiha or Danzo, and he didn't for a minute believe an Uchiha had ordered the execution of all the Uchiha.

Even if he had signed a document such as this, he'd make sure it wasn't an order to kill everyone.

The civilians probably had little to do with it, and there were a few Uchiha that were not ninja. The very few children still in the Academy, and of course those few loyal ninja who hadn't a clue of what had been planned.

The problem was he had no way to prove the document was forged, or that it was Danzo as he believed.

After explaining this to Itachi, he was fearful the boy would become grief stricken and in a rage, but he simply stared, tears building up before he practically begged him to protect his brother whom he had not had the ability to kill.

He hadn't taken long to give his word that he would make sure Sasuke was protected, but he hadn't expected Itachi to also beg forgiveness for hurting Naruto.

Itachi had known how Hiruzen had seen Naruto as a granddaughter, and it was for her he had tried so hard to negotiate with the Uchiha, and help Fugaku try and stop the coup in its tracks.

Alas he had failed.

Hiruzen would admit he had been rather angry when Itachi had explained that Koji and Naruto had come home together, and that he'd tried to get her to leave but one thing led to another. He'd had no time to knock her out, and honestly hadn't thought of it as he'd been in the mindset to finish his mission swiftly.

It was a mindset many ninja, mainly ANBU, went into.

Itachi had realized what he'd done after his blade had slid through her chest, and Hiruzen could tell it hurt him greatly.

He could also see the boy was systematically shutting off his emotions as best he could. To save himself from insanity he supposed.

"The news?" Hiruzen asked, looking at his best doctor currently in the hospital.

He was lucky. The doctor was a woman just a decade or so younger than him who could clearly see Naruto was not the Kyuubi. She had also known the girls father quite well since the boy had a habit of getting injuries.

Three days had already passed since the massacre, the word had spread, and people were mourning.

There were a select few who believed Naruto had something to do with it.

Some even went so far as to say she'd driven Itachi over the edge because she was spending time with either the boys younger brother, or Uchiha Koji, as more than friends.

All claims were completely ridiculous, but he'd expected something like this when it was apparent Naruto was in critical condition along with a handful of survivors.

Unfortunately all but Sasuke, and Naruto had died from wounds, and Koji had barely survived unless that had changed in the last two days.

From the way the medic looked at him he feared it had.

"It's not good news, Hiruzen," Takahashi Naoko said. "Uchiha Sasuke has suffered from minor cuts and abrasions, but mentally he was under severe stress. He'll recover, maybe today, maybe in a few days, but he's going to be fine."

Hiruzen nodded, and then asked what he was dreading, "And Uchiha Koji and Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naoko sighed.

"We _had_ Uchiha Koji stable, and he survived the night, but he slipped into a coma. I'm afraid the wounds he suffered were just to much for his body, he passed half a hour ago."

Hiruzen sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, forcing back the sting of tears. He loved the village and everyone in it like his own children, so it was only natural he felt guilt and sadness at the lose of a promising shinobi and life.

He also feared how Naruto would take it. Their other teammate as well.

"As for Uzumaki Naruto..."

The way Naoko paused did not bode well for Hiruzen who looked at the woman with a frown, and a silent plea for good news.

"Her wounds were great, both physical and mental. It's almost as if... she was resuscitated, sometimes that will cause some mental strain, not a lot mind you, but this is a new situation we've found ourselves in. her internal injurers were grievous, she was stabbed clean through with a blade, a ninjatō from the wound shape and size."

Naoko swallowed.

"The wound was partially healed, I suspect the work of the bijū. Why only partially, I don't know, but the worse of it is while we could heal all her wounds from being fatal, and give her a blood transfusion."

She pursed her lips and then continued.

"Uzumaki Naruto had fallen into a deep coma. I don't know if she'll ever wake up."


	22. Breathe Into Me

**AN: So, I want to thank everyone for their reviews, and their support. **

**There isn't much of Kasumi in this chapter, but there will be pretty soon, though what happens between her and Naruto might not be what is expected. **

**Also, I have no plans of killing Kasumi off anytime soon, someone asked about if she would or not though I can't remember who. I just thought I'd let that be known. **

**Naruto will also be waking up, just not right now. It might be a chapter or two before she wakes up. **

**So, onto the chapter.**

**Oh, and the chapter title is taken from the song, Breath Into Me by Red, which I happened to be listening to when I wrote part of the chapter. **

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 21: Breathe Into Me. **

Hiruzen sighed as he sat in a chair next to the bed the blonde jinchūriki laid on.

She was dressed in a white hospital gown, and he could see some of the bandages that wrapped around her chest and down her right arm – which had been hurt during her fight with Itachi, with minor cuts and bruises.

Most of that had healed by the day after her and Sasuke had been brought in.

The girl looked peaceful, despite the tube and machine which gave her body nourishment while it was comatose. She was too still though, Naruto was never this still, not even in her sleep.

When she'd been a toddler, falling asleep when she'd come to his office to hide from the village glares she'd fall asleep, tossing and turning nearly the whole time.

"Naoko, be honest, what are the odds she'll wake up?" he asked, and the medic sighed.

"To be honest, for someone else I'd say they weren't very good. Naruto is a jinchūriki, though and as such has a higher healing factor. I'm surprised she was even able to fall into a coma this deep."

Naoko pursed her lips before running a hand through her graying black hair.

"Her chances lessen after a month, more than that and it could be years before she wakes up."

"Is there anything we can do?" Hiruzen asked.

Naoko blinked, and bit the inside of her cheek.

"There might be one person who can bring Naruto out of her coma, and it's a long shot," she said. "If she'd not awake in a month I think her only shot of waking up anytime soon is Tsunade, the Slug Princess."

Hiruzen bowed his head slightly and sighed heavily.

"I was afraid you would say that," he replied and stood. "I'll be going, I have paperwork to do, a council to inform, civilians to set straight, funeral arrangements to make, and wayward students to bring home – if only temporarily."

Naoko smiled slightly at the retreating Hokage and turned back to the young girl that was her patient. The girl reminded the older woman so much of her parents it wasn't funny, but she was clearly her own person as well.

She had calmed down a lot since her pranking days, though occasionally a prank would pop up that had Uzumaki Naruto's name written all over it – figuratively speaking of course.

"Wake up soon, Naru," she whispered before she hung up the clipboard on the end of the bed and left the room to check on other patients.

* * *

"So, Uzumaki Naruto is in a coma," Inoichi Yamanaka said, a grim look on his face.

The blond man had no problem with the girl, and hadn't been overly surprised when her heritage came out.

He remembered Uzumaki Kushina, the once Heiress of Uzu no Kuni, and Naruto was like a blonde, red highlighted, blue eyed, mirror image of her mother. Yamanaka's were also rather perceptive, their abilities with the mind tended to be part of this.

The truth had been hiden rather well, but also rather poorly. Anyone who remembered Kushina's maiden name would be able to connect Naruto to the red haired woman.

Though, she'd never really introduced herself as Namikaze Kushina unless it was formal. It was usually Namikaze-Uzumaki or simply Uzumaki.

The fact of the mater was most did not want to see Uzumaki Naruto for who she was, they were blinded by her status as jinchūriki.

"Good riddance," a brave civilian council member muttered, though she was quickly regarded with quite a few sharp glares.

Most the head of the clans had nothing against the girl, it was the Kyuubi they disliked, and being they had faith in the Yondaime's sealing abilities.

Though they'd never really met the girl or endeavored to meet her either. Not even the Elders hated her, but they didn't necessarily like her either.

They were in the mind set that the jinchūriki's were made to be weapons for the villages, and should be molded as such. Not unsurprisingly when Danzo had suggested it years ago it had been shot down, but in a way he'd gotten his desire.

She was a shinobi of the leaf village, a prodigy at that, and many would say a shinobi was simply a tool of their village. A weapon.

Unfortunately for Danzo she also had quite a bit of power being the last of two clans.

"Shut your mouth you useless woman," Inuzuka Tsume said, glaring over at the woman and rolling her eyes as she turned back to face the Hokage.

It was easy to see the Hokage was in no mood for the woman's foolish behavior.

"I am afraid so. She was grievously injured by Uchiha Itachi," Hiruzen said. "The medic-nin I spoke to, Takahashi Naoko, did not have good news. She is unsure if Naru will wake up, but she has suggested someone who may be able to wake her up."

Many eyebrows rose.

"And who, Hiruzen, is that?" Koharu asked, her voice never wavering from it's usual professional tone.

"I have already sent my summons out, I hope that soon, Senju Tsunade will be returning to the leaf village."

There were gasp of shock, wide eyes and many whispers.

Sighing, the Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose.

"QUIET!" he demanded, and almost instantly there was complete silence.

"I see, so she will be returning to help the last Uchiha and Uzumaki?" Homura asked, nodding his acceptance of this plan.

Hiruzen felt a major headache coming on.

"I hope so, if she does not respond to my summons I will send Jiraiya and some ANBU to bring her back. You all know she has suffered major losses in the past, she may very well not remain here long when she does arrive."

There were some mutters from the civilian side of the council which the other sides and the Hokage mostly ignored. Hiruzen was in no mood to try and play their games right now.

He had a new stack of paperwork on his desk, his worries for Naruto, and other more important things to deal with. One of them being a distraught Inuzuka.

He wished Minato were still alive, he doubted the blond would have allowed the civilian council to get so far politically.

As it was he couldn't monitor everyone, being Hokage was a busy job, and he was no longer as young as he once was. Maybe he should think of retiring in a few years, once he'd decided on someone suitable to replace him.

"Troublesome," Shikaku grumbled. "But not to be unexpected."

"Indeed," Hiruzen said. "We will cease for now, and talk about other matters at a later date."

* * *

"Shizune, we'll stop here for now," a woman who looked to be in her mid twenties said, a hand on her hip as she looked around the town close to Fire Country.

Shizune looked around and sweat-dropped upon realizing it was one of the few villages with casino's and plenty of bars. She nodded, clutching Tonton the pig in her arms as they entered the hotel they'd stopped in front of.

"Two rooms please, close together, please," Tsunade said, and the man behind the counter nodded.

Looking around Tsunade smiled slightly at seeing the doors that led into what seemed like a bar and casino area. She had been hoping it would be one of those hotels, but then the ones in this village usually were.

"Tsunade..." Shizune began, seeing exactly where the blonde was looking with dread.

She never got to finish though because there was a puff of smoke and a monkey stood on the country. It looked strange for a monkey and Shizune knew instantly it was a summons, probably one of the younger ones since it wasn't much bigger than a seven year old, if that.

If she'd ever seen the Monkey King, Enma, she would have realized the monkey summons looked quite a bit like him, just younger and only vaguely, mostly in how it was dressed.

"You Tsunade of the Sannin?"

Tsunade twitched.

"Sensei sent you didn't he?" she said dryly, barely sounding like the question it was.

The monkey nodded.

"This is for you, Blondie," the monkey said, and Tsunade forced back a involuntary twitch, while Shizune blinked away her surprise.

The monkey held out a scroll before disappearing, leaving the man behind the counter to try to process what he'd just seen.

While Tsunade was left clutching the scroll in her hand like she wished to attempt to strangle it, despite it not being an animate object.

She had a hunch what it was, but Tsunade dared hope she was wrong. Looking over to the bar and casino she sighed, before turning to Shizune.

"Let's go up to our rooms, I should see what Sensei wants," she said, before she began walking off with an exasperated sigh. "I need saké to deal with this crap."

* * *

"The clouds, they're darker today," Naruto muttered from her place in the grass, her eyes focused on the bright blue sky.

She was laying in a meadow like area, the grass was rather tall, though not so much it was uncomfortable to lay in it and there were wild flowers scattered throughout the grassy knoll.

Slowly she began getting confused, why was she here? Where was here exactly? She barely recognized this area as a spot in Konoha, barely. She'd come here once or twice with Koji and Kasumi.

They'd ate lunch there, simply talked and laid down to watch the passing clouds – a pass time Koji enjoyed, though it was the sky he enjoyed watching. Daytime, nighttime, it didn't matter – it was a trait he'd picked up from his mother, Asami.

"Hn, I guess they are," a familiar voice said from beside he, "but it's your world."

Naruto felt a searing pain in her chest before she sat up, a frown marring her face.

She noticed as she sat up she was wearing a long sleeved, yet thin, white kimono that fell to her shins, and a wide dark crimson sash keeping it together while making a bow in the back with the excess fabric trailing down.

She was also barefoot, and her long blonde hair was free of any restraints, even the hair-clips she commonly wore.

"My world?" she questioned. Naruto looked over to her right, to her best friend who had sat up as well, leaning back on his hands. "What do you mean, Ko-kun?"

Dark gray eyes stared at her, and he smiled almost sadly.

"Don't you remember, Naru? Neither of us are really here."

Naruto blinked.

"I don't understand. Of course we are, we're right here!"

He shook his head, and smiled up at the sky.

"It's not reality though, you're just stuck in your mind. In your own little reality," he said, and shrugged before looking over at her with a grim face. "I'm dead, Naru."

Naruto's eyes widened, and her breathing stopped short as something snapped and she realized what Koji had meant all along.

This wasn't real, she wasn't even awake.

Itachi had killed the clan. Koji...he was dead?

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I remember, you were alive when I checked!"

"No."

"Yes, I checked. You were alive, dattebane!" she yelled, tears threatening to fall.

Koji sighed, and pulled Naruto closer to him, wrapping his arm around her to pull her into a sitting half-hug.

"Maybe I was then, but I'm dead now."

"Then how are you here?" she demanded, straightening up, unsure whether to pull away from the half hug she was in or not.

Koji smiled.

"You know how your father sealed the Kyuubi, don't you?"

Naruto nodded, and replied, "He called on the Shinigami, the death god."

"Exactly," he said, releasing her from the hug, "Let's just say I'm here in spirit."

"Spirit," Naruto echoed, her voice choking. "How, why?"

"To make sure you don't do anything stupid, like stay in a coma for a decade," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Naruto stared at him blandly.

He smirked.

"Shinigami-sama also feels he owes you, for big red and demonic being shoved into your gut at birth," Koji said, shrugging.

"Truth be told, Naru, I don't honestly know why this is being allowed. For all I know I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"Are you?" she asked, having a hard time believing the death god had allowed Koji to help her one last time. "A figment of my imagination, I mean."

He frowned.

"I don't think so, I feel pretty real," he said looking at her. "You know, for a dead person."

She snorted, choking back bitter laughter.

"I couldn't save you," she muttered and Koji sighed.

"You need to let that go, It wasn't anything you could help." Koji frowned and stood. "Look, Naruto I don't have much time. I need you to listen to me."

She looked at him startled, never having heard that tone of seriousness outside a mission.

"You need to wake up. Sasuke needs you, Kasumi does as well. Hell, I'd say this whole village needs you, even if they don't want to admit."

Naruto snorted, having a hard time believing that last part. She loved Konoha, she truly did, but she could honestly say that she would be able to walk away from it.

For the right reasons, of course. She had no intention of ever leaving as a missing-nin, but there were other reasons she'd be willing to leave.

She didn't look to ever do that though, it would take a lot for her to do such a thing. Konoha was, after all, where she was born. Where her friends...friend was.

She felt her heart convulse in her chest at the realization she'd lost nearly everyone in one night.

Only Kasumi, and Sasuke remained. For some reason she didn't know if she could face her other friend and teammate knowing she couldn't save Koji.

"Hn, I don't necessarily think many deserve you for how they have treated you most your life, but it doesn't change the fact you need to wake up," Koji continued, sighing. "You also need to be careful, I don't think Itachi acted alone. I think there was more to the massacre than we realize."

Naruto's head turned sharply at his words, her eyes wide.

Itachi's name sent a shiver of betrayal through her heart, and moisture to her eyes.

"He killed you, and everyone else," Naruto muttered, "what more could there be?"

Koji laughed bitterly.

"Don't act that way, I know you noticed how Itachi was acting. He tried to make you leave..."

Reaching over Koji touched her forehead, smiling slightly.

"I saw him, when he kissed your forehead, he practically begged forgiveness thinking he'd killed you."

"I was dead," Naruto said, and then blinked in confusion. "I was dead... then how am I alive?"

Koji shook his head, allowing his arm to fall back to his side.

"I don't know," he said. "But I do know something. Itachi didn't kill everyone himself, there was a man in an orange mask, he gave me the wounds I believe really killed me – though I probably would have died from the ones Itachi gave me anyways. I think... I think he was an Uchiha."

Naruto stared at him in surprise, and then closed her eyes, a single tear running down her cheek.

"I just don't understand, Koji, how could everything have gone so wrong?"

"I don't know," Koji said. "Sometimes shit just happens."

Naruto laughed, "Death hasn't made your sense of humor any better."

Looking over Naruto noticed the boy had begun to fade.

"Looks like my time is almost up," Koji said, looking down at his transparent and fading hands. "I finally figured something out though..."

He smiled sadly at her.

"You're my best friend, Naru-chan. My feelings for you have always confused me, just like my feelings for Kasumi have confused me. But I realized, I was trying to find something between us that wasn't meant to be there, but I still love you. I don't know what kind of love it is exactly, I never really got that far, but I don't think it matters now."

Naruto didn't know what to say, she knew she loved Koji as well, but it wasn't the romantic kind of love. She had once thought it might be, but over the years she'd realized there just wasn't that sort of chemistry between them.

He was her best friend, her first friend, and it had taken her till his death to figure out that her love for him was that of a best friend, of family. At least consciously she hadn't realized, subconsciously she felt she'd already known this.

She'd known, unlike with Itachi, nothing romantic could form between her and Koji. At least not on her end, and she was sure it was the same on his.

She'd seen the way he looked at Kasumi, at time she thought he didn't even realize it. It seemed he still hadn't, but had begun to before his death.

"You're like family to me, Koji, It took me a while to figure it out, but I know now," Naruto said and Koji smiled.

"You have a big heart Naruto, you're the kind of person who can love more than once in a life time. I can live, figuratively speaking, with knowing how you see me, and I can honestly say I feel the same. I've never been that good at emotions though, after all."

"Uchiha's usually aren't," she muttered and the boy became little more than a transparent specter.

"Goodbye, Naruto," Koji said before he faded altogether.

Naruto sighed, blinking back tears that she wouldn't allow to fall.

"Goodbye, Koji."

* * *

Kasumi hated herself.

It was that simple. Here she was sitting in the place they'd passed the Bell test three years ago, the place she'd truly gotten to know Uchiha Koji and Uzumaki Naruto, and all she could do was struggle with the emotions which raged inside her.

In the Academy they'd never really spoken, she had her own circle of friends, friends which she had lost touch with after the first year of being a genin.

Some hadn't passed the exam, others were just as busy as her. As they said, friends grew apart sometimes.

She'd never dreamed she'd loose her sensei, and one of her best friends in one night.

What made it worse was she should have been there. The training she knew Koji and Naruto had been returning to the Uchiha district from, she had blown it off because her family was having a small reunion dinner with her grandparents, the Nohara side anyways.

She'd sat through hours of how much she reminded her gran and gramps of their other daughter, her aunt, Rin.

It was actually true, she'd seen pictures and she was nearly a mirror image of her deceased aunt, but it didn't mean she liked being compared to the woman.

But she digressed.

While she'd sat safe at home, her friends were being attacked. Now Mikoto-sensei was dead, as was Koji-kun and Naruto was in a coma. It disgusted her, but part of her blamed Naruto for what had happened to Koji.

The fact it was Itachi's doing had made it worse. She didn't put much stock into village rumors, but Naruto was a jinchūriki... she was powerful, why couldn't she save Koji and even the others of the clan?

"You really need to chill, sis," a voice said from behind her, and Kasumi spun around to glare at her brother.

"Shut up, Kaisei!" Kasumi growled out, as she stood.

Inuzuka Kaisei was her younger twin brother, and looked rather like a male version of her. His hair was the same crimson as her own but was shorter and spikier, as if trying to defy gravity.

Unlike her he didn't he have burgundy eyes, he had dark brown, like their mother. Like her he had the clan marks on his cheeks (the Inuzuka side, not the Nohara).

Kaisei sighed.

"Look, I know you're upset. You lost your teammate and sensei, but the world isn't going to stop turning just because of that," he said.

Kasumi clinched her fist.

"Shouldn't you be visiting your other teammate, little sister?" he asked and Kasumi growled low in her throat.

"I'm not your _little_ sister, Kai! I'm older than you by five minutes," she snapped, ignoring her brothers smug smirk, she sighed.

"I can't."

"Can't what?" he asked.

"Go see her. I... I'll... I just can't," Kasumi said and stomped off, leaving her brother to watch her go in concern.

Kaisei had always been close to his sister, they were twins after all, but in the last few years she'd changed so much. Her skills as a shinobi had increased and her temper had calmed.

He knew it was because of her team, now that all but one was gone he feared she'd change again, and this time not for the best.

He could also see the death of Uchiha Koji had hit her the hardest. He, like most annoying siblings, was prone to snooping through his siblings things.

One such thing was the girls diary.

He was aware his sister had a crush on Koji, and from what he just saw she had really liked him.

"Well, that went well," he muttered grumpily, before he began to head back to the Inuzuka compound.

* * *

Tsunade had to read the message from her sensei three times before it truly sunk in. even then it was hard to believe.

Just how far had Konoha fallen since the Yondaime's death, since her grandfather had built it over sixty years before.

She knew Hokage meant making hard decisions, but from what the scroll was telling her what had recently happened hadn't been by his orders.

Someone had went behind the Hokage's back, something no one in the past had dared do. At least not when she'd been a little girl, when her grand-uncle Tobirama was Hokage or before that when her grandfather had been Hokage.

The Uchiha were dead, all but one, and Uzumaki Kushina's daughter was in a coma as a result of the massacre. A deep one from what the missive said.

What shocked her the most was who had done the crime, and how Sarutobi feared it would effect not only Uchiha Sasuke but the current Team Seven as well.

She'd cringed at reading that, she had experience with how badly life could turn for Team Seven.

After Minato's generation she'd petitioned – for lack of better term – for the cell number to be disbanded, feeling it was just as cursed as the necklace around her neck.

Unfortunately her sensei wouldn't do that, thinking her simply over reacting. That was easy for him to say, his team hadn't really met any unfortunate ends.

She was convinced her former teammate, Orochimaru had cursed the team number either before or after he left. Or maybe the sannin were simply the progenitors of the curse of Team Seven.

Sarutobi-sensei was worried, though, for their mental state as well as physical state. The scroll was mostly smaller details, of the massacre, and how he needed her to come back to heal Uzumaki Naruto, chūnin of Konoha.

The fact Kushina's daughter was already a chūnin surprised her. Last she thought about it, Uzumaki Naruto should only be nine. She smiled, a barely noticeable one but a smile nonetheless.

Naruto was her parents daughter.

"Shishou, is it bad news?" Shizune asked, concerned for the still unresponsive sannin, and it showed with her use of honorific.

"It's really not good, Shizune," Tsunade said.

"Oink!" Tonton squealed from her spot on the bed, almost as if to ask what it was, and Shizune looked at the woman she saw as an aunt inquiringly.

"I've been called back to the village." Tsunade put the scroll down on the table beside her and sighed. "The Uchiha clan has been massacred, sensei didn't go into a lot of detail, but there were only two survivors. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

Shizune's eyes widened.

"What, but who could possibly massacre an entire clan? The Uchiha weren't all talk, they were a strong part of Konoha's military power!"

Tsunade nodded, completely agreeing.

"One of their own, apparently. Uchiha Itachi."

Shizune was silent for a while, unbelieving but knowing it had to be true if the Hokage was sending such a notice to Tsunade and recalling her back to the village.

"Wait, why was Uzumaki Naruto hurt? Why was she there?" Shizune asked, recalling the mention of the girl she'd heard a little about.

"Her teammate was Uchiha Koji, they were very close friends. She was very close to the heir, Itachi and his family, her sensei being Uchiha Mikoto." Tsunade sighed.

"Kami, she must be so upset," Shizune muttered sadly and Tsunade closed her eyes momentarily.

From what she read and the little details she currently had from the message scroll, Uchiha Itachi was betrothed to Uzumaki Naruto, or was before he killed his clan and became a missing-nin.

She'd also been close friends with him for five years, give or take a few months.

Nearly six years when it came to her now deceased teammate. She even thought of the Uchiha as the family she never had, one of the main reasons the nine year old had agreed to the arranged marriage.

The Slug Sannin could relate to the girls recent lose, and it saddened her. She remembered what she felt like when Nawaki died, or with Dan.

If Naruto was anything like her mother then Tsunade had no doubt she'd pull through, but it would be a rough road for her to walk.

"I don't know if she's feeling much of anything right now, Shizune," Tsunade said, looking at her black haired apprentice. "She's in a coma."

Black eyes widened once more.

"Are you going to return?" she asked, hoping mentally that the blonde would.

"I don't know... return to Konoha..." Tsunade took a deep breath and grabbed the sake on the table before her. "Pack your things, Shizune, we're going back tomorrow, just don't expect to stay long."

Shizune sighed in relief, and smiled. It had been a long time since she'd been back to Konoha.

* * *

"A sewer?" Naruto questioned as she realized where she was.

It was a large sewer-like room, and there was shin high water on the ground that rippled as she walked.

As she got further into the room she saw large bars, like a towering cage with a paper seal keeping it closed.

"Seal," she read, and her eyes widened when she realized just where exactly she was. "Kyuubi."

Large slitted red eyes opened from the darkness behind the cage bars.

"**So, my jailer finally arrives."**

* * *

**AN: So that's it for now. **

**Hopefully the scene with Naruto and Koji's ghost, for lack of a better term, was alright. I was a little iffy about how it turned out at first, and rewrote it twice before I was happy with it. **

**I also have to wonder how many forgot Kasumi had a twin brother - he was mentioned briefly in the first Arc. Truth be told, I almost forgot about him.  
**

**The next chapter will deal with Gaara and his own betrayals in Suna, Tsunade's return, Naruto learning a few things about her Kekkei Genkai and more. **


	23. Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki: The Lost

**AN: The next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. **

**Though, there isn't much more than details towards the end and an explanation towards Naruto's bloodline. **

**I'm sorry about any of the grammar or spelling errors, I'll have to read back over it once I wake up as I am heading to bed. I tend to update stories right before doing that, it seems. Anyways, the Nightmare Arc is almost over. **

**Also for those who asked if Tsunade is staying. She is not, but she will be there for a little while, though I am contemplating a little trip outside the village for Naruto to help her get over the tragedy where Tsunade can help train Naruto a little. **

**You'll find out exactly what I mean in a few chapters. **

**Next chapter will most likely have Naruto waking up, and how she and Kasumi will settle things.**

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 22: Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki: The Lost Dōjutsu. **

**A week before the Massacre; October 20th :**

The full moon was bright, just as bright as many other nights in Suna.

If there was one sight that could rival watching a sunrise or sunset it was watching a bright full moon night in Suna.

With the moon shining as it did the sands almost seemed silver in color at first glance. Gaara had always loved looking at the moon, he wasn't sure why, he just did.

He thought it might have something to do with Shukaku, since the bijū was usually rather calm during those nights – though only marginally – but he didn't think Tanuki's payed much mind to the moon.

Since he could remember he'd come up to the roof, the same roof he was on now, to stare at the moonlit sky. Usually for the entire night, it wasn't like he was loosing sleep anyway.

He couldn't remember a day he'd ever slept, he assumed he might have as a baby, but he couldn't help but doubt it.

It was a great place for him to try and clear his mind and thoughts, it was also a reminder of the best month and a half of his life.

He'd brought Naruto here once, the week before the final round of the Chūnin Exam tournament.

For some reason his uncle had teased him about it, though he really didn't understand why. Naruto was his first friend, and because of her he had a slightly better idea of friendship, of not being alone.

Of human emotions, but he was still a fragile person because of the constant presence of the Shukaku who now that she was gone he realized was quieter when she was around.

Shukaku had simply mentioned feeling something familiar about her, but was unsure what.

Gaara wasn't sure if he was lying or not. He remembered during the exam when she'd fought Yoko she'd had a red aura around her, red chakra. For a time it had felt familiar and Shukaku had been oddly silent.

He didn't think much about it even now.

Naruto had kept her promise, and had written to him when she could, which being a chūnin wasn't as often as he hoped, or she hoped, she could.

He was always happier (something he actually enjoyed feeling, something he rarely felt) when her letters arrived and he sent one back within a day.

He'd recently sent back his last reply, not realizing it would be the last one either of them would send.

Gaara stiffened as he felt a familiar presence, and he clutched at his chest lightly at the pain of knowing what was going to happen.

Clinching his eyes closed, Gaara wasn't surprised when he heard the sound of shuriken being thrown, and his sand shielding him from behind.

He turned, and threw his legs from where they dangled over the ledge and stood before three ANBU. He of course couldn't see their faces, but he knew they were Suna ANBU from experience.

"DIE!"

Gaara clinched his fist and his sand acted on it's own by surrounding two of the ANBU and slamming into the third. The first two gasped as they were confined in the sand, like a coffin, and Gaara raised his hand as if on instinct.

"Why won't you leave me alone!" he exclaimed, unable to stop himself from the show of emotions as he clinched his fist and the two ANBU were reduced to nothing but blood and lumps of flesh.

The last ANBU was now standing, though with slight difficulty.

His hands were at his sides, using the Sōshūjin (Manipulating Attack Blades) to control multiple kunai that floated in midair at his sides.

Gaara's eyes narrowed and the ANBU thrust his hands out, sending the projectiles at him, only for them to be stopped by his sand.

Raising his hand, palm out towards the ANBU his sand rushed towards the shinobi and curled around him like a hand, leaving only his head in view.

Closing his hand into a fist the sand expanded before crushing in, and Gaara watched as the ANBU fell to the roof, barely alive or conscious.

It was the fact his cloths hiding his face were gone that had frozen Gaara to the ground, eyes wide and beginning to tear up.

"Y-Ya-Yashamaru!" he exclaimed, slowly moving closer to his uncle, clutching at the area where his heart was. "Why? I-I thought you were..."

tears flowed as he fell to his knees beside the man, though far enough away that if his uncle could move he wouldn't have enough range to reach out and try to grab him.

"Why?" Yashamaru echoed, his voice strained. "It was an order... to kill you, Gaara."

Gaara's eyes widened, yet he knew it was coming. His father had been ordering his assassination since he was six, yet this was the first time... the first time it had hurt like this.

He clutched at his chest as the pain surged through his chest. Was this what Yashamaru had meant about pain?

"It was necessary. You who bare the Shukaku of the Sand, and were then observed by the village like a guinea pig, Gaara-sama."

Yashamaru's indigo eyes stared ahead of him, with little emotion as he spoke.

"Since you could not control the power that came from the living soul of Shukaku, and were unable to control the sand on your own your existence was ruled an unnecessary danger," he finished and Gaara's eyes widened.

His... existence... was unnecessary?

_'Like I didn't deserve my existence.' _He remembered Naruto saying the day before she left when she'd asked about why everyone disliked him.

He clutched at his head, tears running slower now.

Gaara Looked at his uncle with some trace of hope in his pale green eyes.

"You did it unwillingly, at my fathers order?" he asked, but his hope was soon shattered by Yashamaru's words.

"No, that is not correct. I could have denied the request but I wanted to take the job. I-I think deep inside I've always hated you. You who were the reason for my beloved sisters death. She did not love you, she was a sacrifice for this village, and she cursed them and you for your birth."

Yashamaru knew inside this was not true, but he'd lived with the lie for so long he'd begun to believe it himself.

Karura had truly loved her third son, and had even in death.

There was also the fact his brother-in-law had told him to lie to Gaara if he asked these sort of questions.

"After her death, I've carried a wound that could never heal," he said and Gaara's eyes widened.

_'A wound of the heart...' _

_'It's the worst kind of wound to bare...' _

Gaara shook his head, not wanting to believe it, but unable to deny what he thought to be the truth.

"My sister gave you your name, not because she loved you, but so you could continue to exist. To exist so that her deep hatred would continue to exist within the village she despised," he said, sighing as he moved his arm painfully to undo his flak jacket.

Once it was open it revealed multiple explosion tags attached to him.

"This is it, please die."

Seconds later the tags exploded, but it was in vain since Gaara was protected by a sphere of sand which he sat in the center of, curled into himself.

As the sand fell around him he looked up from where his arms were wrapped around his knees, and staring at the spot Yashamaru once was his mind began to crack.

_'You're existence... unnecessary.' _

_'...your name... not because she loved you... but so you'd continue to exist.' _

_'...the village she despised.' _

_'This is it, please die.' _

Gaara screamed, an inhuman sound as the sand began to swirl around him, and then flow to a certain point on his forehead. Through this all his eyes seeming to glow for a split second.

When the sand subsided Gaara stood, his head bowed, and sand standing like a strange web behind and over him.

The kanji for 'love' stood out on his forehead above his left eye.

In that moment his psyche had cracked, his mind falling from the edge between sanity and insanity that his first and only friend had begun to pull him back from.

In that moment any emotion he'd begun to feel had been erased and with it his memories, the memories of Naruto, a girl who'd not once been afraid of him, had been pushed back to the depths of his shattered mind.

"I finally understand… I'm alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I will love only myself, I will prove my existence, and continue to exist."

* * *

Sasuke woke up after three days, which wasn't strange for someone who had been forced to spend three days mentally tortured with his clan's death by one's older brother in the span of a few seconds.

It took him a while after waking to realize just what had happened, and what it meant. His brother had killed _everyone_.

_'You are weak. Why are you weak? Because you lack...hatred.' _

Sasuke's fist clinched as his brothers words came back to him.

_'If you wish to kill me, foolish little brother, then despise me. Hate me... run and cling to life, and when you have the same eyes as I do... come before me.' _

He closed his eyes, forcing the images of the massacre from his mind only for images of happier times to intrude his thoughts.

"_That's not it, your father does care, it's just... Your father is the representative of the whole clan. If the clan is in a bad position, he must protect it. Itachi is the older of the two of you… The job of looking after the clan must be left to him…" _

His mother smiling at him, her onyx eyes bright.

"_I love you and Itachi equally, Sasuke. I'm your mother, I can't have favorites." She chuckled as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. _

There were more, the good times with not only his mother but his father as well. There were fewer of his father, he'd admit that, but his father had always been rather busy.

Sometimes it was as if he were a disappointment to him, but at others... well he'd been even more confusing before Naruto had somehow found her way into the clan.

_Naruto..._ he thought with a frown as he swung his legs over the bed and stood.

He had to find her, to make sure she was really alive.

The doctors hadn't told him much when he'd asked, they told him that he was the only survivor besides Naruto, but other than that they'd been quiet.

They had let slip what room she was in, though.

As he made his way as quickly and as silently as he could to Naruto's room, he couldn't help the thoughts in his mind. Thoughts of what had happened, what he was going to do now that everyone of importance, bare one, was dead.

He was pretty sure he was still in some sort of shock. He felt like crying, his eyes felt as if the tears were there, but he simply couldn't.

Not right now, not in such a public setting. So he forced that all away, focusing only on his current goal.

It wasn't long before he found the right room, entering quietly. It was easy to spot the blonde in all the white.

He noticed instantly she was paler than she should be, her hair was fanned around her, and underneath her, and there was a tube he assumed fed her body the nourishment it needed.

"Naruto," he muttered, walking over to stand beside her, pulling the chair in the corner with him.

Sasuke honestly didn't know what to say. Even if he didn't know she couldn't hear him, she was in a coma, she might never wake up. Why get his hopes up? Why was he even here?

_'I had to know she was alive, that Itachi didn't take everyone... but we weren't even that close. We hated each other, didn't we?'_ he thought to himself, yet he knew it wasn't entirely true.

He didn't hate Naruto, he saw her as a rival of sorts. He also knew it was a strange way to see her, since she was already a chūnin an he was still in the academy.

Yet it was partially to be stronger than her that he trained so much. She was also his best friend, he wouldn't admit it now or anytime soon, but she meant a lot to him.

Even now, she was a connection to better times.

There was a part of him that wondered how she was handling it. From how he'd found her she'd faced Itachi, the person she was supposed to marry one day, and been killed along with one of her best friends.

He wasn't stupid, he knew Naruto had been dead, if only for a few minutes, and he couldn't help but wonder how she was alive now.

It was a question he might never get an answer to, but he could wonder and ask Naruto if she ever woke up.

Sitting in the chair he'd pulled over, Sasuke wondered if he should say something, but didn't know what he could say.

Sorry you got mixed up in my insane brother's rampage? He snorted, that probably wasn't something she'd want to hear anyways.

"Wake up, Dobe," he muttered, and his eyes drooped down as he began to fall asleep in the chair he was slumped in.

* * *

Naruto stared up at the massive fox that slowly came into view.

He was large, just as the history books said, just as big as the Hokage monument it seemed.

His fur was a red-orange color, though predominately it was red in color. There was black as well, at his ears which to her resembled rabbit ears, and his eyes.

**"You look like them, but I can see that thrice cursed Yondaime in you as well,"** the Kyuubi, Kurama, said. **"Come closer, I'd like the chance to rip you apart."**

Naruto narrowed her eyes at the large fox, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, like that's going to make me come closer," she said. "What did you mean, though, about looking like them?"

Kyuubi stared at the girl for a moment before shrugging.

**"Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina. One your great aunt, give or take a great and the other your mother. Of course you resemble both, being an Uzumaki. If you had red hair you'd look even more like your mother, despite some of your father's features being present."**

Naruto nodded. She was aware of the first jinchūriki being Uzumaki Mito, wife of the Shodaime Hokage.

She also knew her mother had been one, but was unsure exactly what happened to release the Kyuubi all those years ago.

"You're being rather helpful, I thought you'd hate me?"

Kyuubi snorted.

**"Don't take this as liking you, little flesh-bag. I was simply answering your question, or maybe you could call me nostalgic for the previous two who imprisoned me."**

"Why am I here?"

**"You're just full of questions, aren't you?"** Kurama asked. **"You're recklessness got you killed, nearly taking me with you. I couldn't allow that."**

Naruto's eyes widened.

"So I was right, you did save me!"

Kurama nodded.

**"You were very much dead. The only thing that allowed you to cheat death was me being able to restart your heart after healing enough of the damage caused by your recklessness,"** he said. **"I doubt I could do it again. As it is the stress caused your body to go into this coma."**

Naruto nodded in understanding, still trying to take in the fact she was having a sort of civil conversation with the most powerful of the Bijū.

"Why am I here? I wanted to wake up," she said, and Kurama snorted.

**"You'll wake up when all the damage, mental and physical, has been healed or a skilled healer wakes you up, brat,"** he said. **"Until then..."**

Naruto's eyes widened then, as something she'd nearly forgotten came back to her.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, drawing Kurama's attention to her sudden outburst. "I remember, my eyes they were black! When I was helping Sasuke, they were black... how?"

Kurama looked at the girl for a moment and then narrowed his eyes.

**"It can't be..."** he muttered, growling low in his throat. **"Focus chakra to your eyes, human, show me what you mean."**

Naruto opened her mouth to argue, but shut it a second later thinking better of it. It wasn't some outlandish request, and if he could answer her questions...

Naruto began channeling chakra to her eyes and instantly saw the difference.

Her vision was a bit sharper. Kyuubi seemed to have an aura around him, a very bright one at that, which took a few seconds for her to be able to stare at without some pain – as if she were staring into the sun, just on a slightly lesser scale.

**"Akureigan,"** the Kyuubi muttered, and Naruto's attention snapped to the giant fox. **"I haven't seen one of them in... centuries."**

"What?" she asked, "Akureigan, what is that?"

Kurama stared at the blonde for a moment before sighing.

**"It's been a long time since I've seen one of them, and I don't have all the details. I do know where it originated from though,"** Kurama said. **"It's very rare, the fourth great Dōjutsu."**

"Can you tell me?" Naruto asked, being as polite as she possibly could.

She didn't really want to antagonize the only one who could tell her what this ability was. Where it had come from.

**"What do you know of the Uzumaki clan?"** Kurama asked.

"It was my mother's clan," Naruto began. "I know they was feared for their Fūinjutsu. It was one of the reason Uzushio was destroyed. I know a little about my mother's family, her parents and siblings. I also know they were distant cousins of the Senju and Terumi clans."

Kurama nodded.

**"Pretty good, for a human,"** he said. **"But there is much more about them that many don't know."**

Kurama looked at the girl with narrowed eyes.

**"Listening closely, girl. Long before I was created, before Chakra was an universal ability among humans, there was one man with the ability of chakra. Myths were created about him, dubbing him the Rikudō Sennin, Sage of Six Paths."**

"I've heard that story, he was supposedly the first Shinobi no Kami with a Dōjutsu thought to be a myth... the Rinnegan."

Kurama blinked, looking at the girl rather impressed. Not that he'd admit that to her.

**"There is no question about it, girl, it is very much truth. The Rikudō Sennin did in fact exist, he did in fact bring about what is now the shinobi arts along with chakra, and the Rinnegan is no myth,"** Kurama said. **"But there is more, much more that is not common knowledge."**

Naruto stared with wide eyes, but she was hard pressed to not believe the Kyuubi. He was supposed to be very old after all.

**"Now, shut up and listen. You humans knew him as the Rikudō Sennin, to me he was more. He was my old man, I guess, he was the one who created me and my fellow Bijū in the form we are now. Before us there was only one, the Jubi."**

Naruto opened her mouth to ask who the Jubi was, but quickly shut up when Kyuubi sent her a fierce glare.

**"The Jubi was the primordial being that we were created from. The ten-tails, and I don't have much in knowledge of the Jubi, he was what we were created from, but he was not us nor are we him. What we know came from the sage himself. I do know that no one wants to be faced with the Jubi. It was against the Jubi the old man fought many battles, all in order to stop it from destroying the world as it was back then."**

Kurama stopped for a second to catch his breath before continuing.

**"Eventually, the Rikudō Sennin defeated the Jubi and saved the world by sealing it into himself. He became the first jinchūriki. Many years later, approaching his death bed, he decided to split the Jubi's chakra with one of the jutsu's that was possible thanks to his Rinnegan. In doing this he created the Nine bijū. My_ brothers, sister_, and myself."**

"What does this have to do with my eyes?" Naruto asked.

**"Patience, I'm getting to that,"** Kurama said. **"What many don't know is the old man wasn't alone. He had help battling the Jubi at times, his cousin, a woman I remember very well in fact. Her name was Kotone... Uzumaki Kotone."**

Naruto's eyes widened, her jaw dropping at the revelation.

The Kyuubi snorted.

**"Yes, she was your ancestor, as was the Rikudō Sennin in a distant way now days. Kotone wasn't just the sage's relative, she was the great-niece of the Rikudō Sennin's wife – and before you ask, no that doesn't mean the sage married an old hag. Back then children where just born earlier, people married earlier. Though it has truly not changed much, people still marry and have children rather young from what I've seen."**

Naruto flushed in embarrassment, wondering how the fox knew she was going to ask how the Sage's cousin could be the great-niece of his wife. For that to happen it would mean Kotone's mother had to be the sage's wife's niece.

**"I digress though, I was speaking of Kotone and her aiding the Rikudō Sennin,"** Kurama said, drawing her attention back.

**"As I said, she was also rather skilled, she didn't exactly have chakra, she had spiritual abilities. She was a miko, a Priestess. She helped where she could, and it was the sage who actually raised her since her parents had died when she was young. She had eyes just like yours, she was the first with the Dōjutsu, but unlike the Sage she was never mentioned in the myths. It's how she would have wanted it, I suppose."**

"But where did it come from?" Naruto asked.

Kurama's eye twitched slightly but he answered anyways.

**"It was an effect from the Jubi. The Sage's eyes were something he was born with, but Kotone's came from exposure to the Jubi's chakra before and after it was corrupted by humanity."**

"Corrupted?" she questioned, surprised.

Kurama nodded.

**"Bijū are not good or evil, we are neutral entities,"** Kurama began. **"We are effected by humanity to some degree, it was more apparent with the Jubi who was a representative of chaos and order, though mostly a peaceful being in the beginning. Humanity eventually tipped the balance for the Jubi, corrupting it and turning it into the beast that threatened to destroy the world. It's the reason Kotone named the Dōjutsu the Akureigan, meaning Evil Spirit Eye."**

Naruto was silent, trying to take in the knowledge her tenant was offering her.

**"Kotone eventually went on to have her own children, who had children and so on and so forth. The same can be said for the sage. He and his wife, Orihime, had two children. Two sons, the older inherited the eyes of the sage, and the younger son inherited the life force and body of the sage. The Older was the first of the Uchiha clan, and the younger the first of the Senju clan."**

Kyuubi shook his head.

**"So in all honesty, all Dōjutsu originate from the Bijū in some way, though the Akureigan is the only one with an origin directly to one. It is speculated, even by the old man, that the Rinnegan also has something to do with the Jubi, seeing as his eye was very similar to a mix of the Rinnegan and Sharingan, but even the Rikudō Sennin had no way to say for sure or not. But again, I digress."**

**"The three clans, Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki were connected before even they realized. Since no one realized the first Uzumaki that is known, Kotone, was the first cousin of the sage, making her the second cousin of his sons... added to the fact she was the great-niece of Orihime."**

**"Centuries later three Senju left their clan. Two died on the way, but one, Taiyō, survived. He met a traveling miko, Midoriko, the descendant of Kotone. They had children which led to Uzumaki Mito's father, then Mito and her siblings, and eventually to your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, and then you."**

Naruto blinked, taking in the rushed family tree.

"So... how do you know all of this?" she asked.

**"You don't think I did nothing for the centuries before my first host, did you? I tried to keep an ear to the ground in concern to the sage, his descendants and Kotone's as well. Kotone was a kind woman, and as loath as I am to admit it, the only human I ever respected besides old man sage,"** Kyuubi said, rolling his eyes once.

"Why does no one know about the Akureigan, though? What does it do, exactly?" Naruto asked.

Kyuubi sighed.

**"You have a lot of questions, girl,"** he said. **"Fine. The Akureigan is very difficult to activate. It can be passed on, like most bloodlines, but like the Sharingan it had to be activated under certain circumstances. Kotone learned this the hard way when her oldest child tried to activate his. He died in the process, and Kotone ruled the only way to activate the Akureigan was through cheating death."**

"Cheating... death?" she asked, trying to understand what he meant. "Wait... you don't mean..."

Kyuubi nodded.

**"A person must die, and be resuscitated... effectively cheating death in order to gain the Akureigan. Very few Uzumaki ever awakened it, those who did usually died in the process. I also know Kotone suffered from headaches, severe ones, when she over used it... it was the drawback to it. I honestly don't know much more about it after Kotone's time, since as I said very few ever awakened it, even fewer matured it."**

"Matured it, you mean like the Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

**"Similar. There are two stages to the Akureigan, and unlike the Sharingan there isn't quite the cost to gaining it. The first stage is when the eyes are pitch black, like a void and lack any emotion. The abilities I know of are a type of element release jutsu's that will come to you as you learn to use your bloodline."**

**"It also has other abilities, that all tie to your senses, and making them sharper. The biggest difference between stages, beside appearance, is the senses... they become sharper. A sixth sense of sorts is gained and strength and speed increase; a very unique Dōjutsu since it effects the senses heavily. To gain the mature Akureigan one must experience betrayal (I don't mean something simple, either) by someone close to you. A best friend, lover, etc. That is how Kotone explained it anyway."**

Kurama shrugged.

**"That is basically all I know. I didn't spend all my time looking into Kotone or the old man's descendants. I do know the Uzumaki went to great lengths to hide the fact they had a bloodline. Though in a way they have two... it is possible for an Uzumaki to awaken the Rinnegan, though I've never heard of one actually awakening it. It's just a faint possibility. You on the other hand are probably the first to awaken the Akureigan in centuries."**

Naruto sighed, and nodded.

It was a lot of information to take in, and she hoped her mother had something on it somewhere. She didn't know how she could have missed it if she had.

If her mother didn't, maybe the Hokage could help her dig something up. Maybe something Mito had left behind?

She could understand why her clan had wanted to erase the knowledge of the Akureigan from anyone not of Uzumaki blood.

It was almost more of a curse than a gift. At least in the sense of how it was awakened. Over half died just trying.

They might have also feared other villages trying to kidnap one of their clan to take the bloodline for their own. They'd probably not succeed since most died trying to awaken the Akureigan, but it probably wouldn't stop those power hungry enough to try.

"Now what?" Naruto wondered, wishing she could wake up already.

The Kyuubi laid his head on his arms, crimson eyes narrowed at her, as if trying to solve a puzzle.

For a moment he thought of telling the girl of Madara's part in her recent trauma, but decided against it. She wasn't ready to hear who the masked man was, and he wasn't ready to tell her about Uchiha Madara.

* * *

Tsunade stopped as she reached the gates of Konoha, Shizune beside her with Tonton in her arms.

It had been over nine years since she'd set foot in this village, and she'd never planned to come back. Not even for a moment, and being here didn't change a thing.

She was here because the Hokage had called her back, and she was no fool. If she had refused he could very well make her a missing-nin.

She also felt she owed it to Kushina and Minato to at least take a look at their daughter. Tsunade knew Sarutobi wouldn't have recalled her if she wasn't the only one able to wake her up without her waking up on her own.

"Come on, Shizune," Tsunade said. "The quicker we get this over with, the quicker we can move on."

* * *

**AN: So, you've learned a bit more about her Kekkei genkai this chapter, but here is the information for a better understanding. **

**It gives a little bit more detail, I believe. Before that though, I would like to thank The Benevolent Scriber for their help with the finer details of my bloodline.**

**Clan: **Uzumaki.

**Kekkei genkai: **Akureigan (Evil Spirit Eye).

**History:** The Akureigan came about through exposure to the Jubi's chakra. The first person to wield it was Uzumaki Kotone, cousin of the Rikudō Sennin and great-niece of Orihime, the Rikudō Sennin's wife. It has been passed down, but rarely awakened because of the extreme circumstances one must face to awaken the bloodline.

**Activation: **To activate the Akureigan one must cheat death. Not an easy feat, because in order to cheat death one must die first and be revived naturally. Depending on how fast or slow you die one can awaken it just before death on their last breath, but most activate it upon being resuscitated.

Those are usually the rare few to awaken the bloodline and survive. Sometimes though even they die from wounds not being healed properly or the stress on the body and mind (not to mention it takes some time to adjust to the bloodline and usually it is in battle one awakens it).

Some Uzumaki believe this to be a side effect of the Dōjutsu being gained through demonic chakra, and not something Kotone was born with – even though her descendant were born with the gene to awaken it. Again, it is very rare to awaken.

**Effects: **The Akureigan is very rare to activate, but from what is known there aren't many side effects. Not even the mature stage, the second stage of the Akureigan (the name does not change unlike with the Sharingan), has any extreme effects on the body.

It is a fact that the wielders will suffer headaches, depending on how long they've used it for. There is one case of it being fatal, similar to how chakra exhaustion can kill someone, over using the Akureigan can cause massive damage to the brain causing death.

It is not likely though, as long as one realizes the limitations to how long they can use it, being Uzumaki that line is rather far, but even still possible to cross.

**Abilities:** The Akureigan has many abilities, so to say. There are two that are the focal point of the bloodline. A sort of element release and set of jutsu that are unique to each wielder of the Dōjutsu. The second part is similar to both the Sharingan and Byakugan, not surprising being of similar origins.

But it does not see chakra exactly, it sees the manifestation of physical and spiritual energy before they become chakra. Though it is not exactly separated in your chakra coils and body, the eyes see it as such, giving off an aura one outside and inside the body. It is probably the hardest ability to describe about the Dōjutsu.

Other than that it makes the senses sharper. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. It also enhances reaction time (reflexes).

Which basically means reflexes are better and when focusing movement is slowed down for the user, sort of like the Sharingan, yet it wont predict anything. It's actually being seen in slow motion because of the heightened reaction time and other senses.

It will not, however, copy anything or do anything else the other Dōjutsu's do.

The biggest difference between the first stage and maturity into the second stage of the Akureigan is the added sixth sense (a sort of empathy and sensory), and heightened strength (though not quite on Tsunade's level) and speed.

**Akuton: **The main mechanism of the Akureigan, a sort of element release for lack of a better term. Literally means Evil Release. There is not much documented on the jutsu's available, not only because of the rarity of the bloodline but because it differs between users. It is coded into those who awaken the Dōjutsu's DNA and memory.

**Wielders through History: **The first users on record are Uzumaki Kotone, and also the originator of the bloodline. Uzumaki Isamu, grandfather of Uzumaki Tsuneo who was the father of Uzumaki Mito.

The last known was the one who made Uzu no Kuni what it was by the time Uzumaki Tsuneo became head of the clan, and formed a better alliance with their distant cousins, the Senju, by arranging his eldest daughter and heir at the time, Uzumaki Mito, to marry the Senju Heir, Hashirama.

This person was Uzumaki Midoriko, who married Senju Taiyō, one of three cousins who'd left the clan for reasons lost to history. He was also the only one to survive long after leaving the clan.

**I believe that's about everything there is to know about the bloodline and it's origins. Keep in mind some of this, mainly the abilities are not known to Naruto yet.**

**It'll take her some time to learn her abilities that her bloodline gives her since she has no clan to teach her and even if she did it is so rare they couldn't do much anyways. What is known about it doesn't come with a how-to-scroll.**

**Also, because the Akuton comes to her over time and not on command, it could and will take her years to fully develop and master the bloodline.**


	24. A Waking Nightmare

**AN: So, the next chapter. The next chapter will be the last of the Nightmare Arc.**

**There is one more arc that has to do with her childhood before Sasuke becomes genin, in case anyone is wondering.  
**

**A few of you have asked why Naruto hasn't awakened the final stage of the Akureigan, since Itachi did betray her. **

**It's simple, in order for her to waken the mature state of the Akureigan, she must first have it. I'm pretty sure it's similar for the Sharingan. They can't awaken the ****Mangekyō without first having the Sharingan. **

**As many have figured, it would take a bytraly on Itachi's level to awaken the final stage of the Akureigan. **

**Now, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 23: A Waking Nightmare. **

Tsunade leaned back in the chair in front of her old sensei's desk.

From the expression on her face it was easy to tell she was not impressed. Personally, she didn't have much against the Uchiha clan, she might have not gotten along with many of them, but that wasn't much new.

She had went to the academy with a few of the renowned clan and they'd clashed rather quickly. Many equated it to the old Senju – Uchiha bad blood showing.

She snorted lightly, it was amusing how everyone assumed it was something inherited. That all Senju and Uchiha were bound to fight one another to the bitter end.

It was simply ridiculous, but she digressed. Her point had been, that even with her dislike for some of the clan she'd never wish them dead. She even understood, somewhat, why they'd planned what they had.

She knew she'd hate to feel as if she was being herded to a certain spot and watched like a traitor for years on end. Anyone would, but it also didn't make them right.

She felt Fugaku had the right idea, trying to end the coup after he'd gotten a marriage between Naruto and Itachi approved.

In a simple world a marriage such as that would have ended any plans like a Coup d'état, but this wasn't a simple world.

Things were simply to far gone for Fugaku to simply stop all at once and he'd simply not had enough time to pacify everyone.

There would always be a minority that didn't want to accept Naruto, the jinchuriki of the demon they had been ostracized over, into their clan.

The majority, apprently, had accepted the girl as one of their own, even before the arranged marriage which had been recently revoked once Itachi went rogue.

"How did things get so bad, Sensei?" Tsunade asked, shaking her head. "You wonder why I left after Dan's death."

Hiruzen sighed, nodding.

"I understand, Tsunade, and I thank you for returning so promptly."

"Don't thank me," she said, her eyes slightly narrowed. "I didn't come just because you summoned me, I came because I owe it to Naruto's parents. Kushina was my cousin, no matter the distance. She was like a daughter to me..."

Hiruzen smiled almost sadly, and nodded. He remembered how close Kushina and his student had been. Tsunade had actually taught Kushina a thing or two about seals and medical ninjutsu.

While Kushina had flurished in seals later in life, she'd never really had the drive or control to be a medic-nin. So she only new the basics.

She had been quite fond of surprising her enemies who thought her weaponless with a chakra scalpel to the throat. Even more so with her chakra chains. Kushina hadn't been called the Aka no rensa-shi (Red chained Death) for nothing.

"I figured as much," he said. "As for how this happened... I think you can take a wild guess."

Tsunade frowned, she had a theory of who could of gotten a hold of such valuble items as to forge both the Hokage signature and seal.

Someone who obviously ditrusted how the Sandiame ran Konoha, and she only knew of one dillusional fool with plans of grandeur who could do such a callas and calculating thing.

She knew if Hiruzen had ordered the purge of the Uchiha clan those who had nothing to do with it, the children, civllians etc... would have been spared.

Konoha was supposed to a place of relative peace, even while being a military village primarily.

The Will of Fire her grandfather had passed to all the Hokage's after him in some form or another was supposed to protect.

Even if a ninja's job didn't nessesarily mean protecting people, or other things. A ninja wasn't designed to be a saint, they were killers as well – though ANBU probably had the brunt of the dirty work – if one wanted to call it that.

But she was rambling.

"Danzo," she finally said, and it was clear she did not hold the man in very good light.

If it were up to her, if she were Hokage, she'd have gotten rid of him as soon as she'd found means to do it.

She'd disagreed with his ways since he'd started Root. Ninja were supposed to be a lot of things, but emotionless twenty-four seven, basically scociopaths, was not one of those things.

At least, that was her opinon. There were many that could and probably would disagree with her.

Hiruzen nodded a deep frown on his face.

"I can't do anything about it, I have no way of proving it," he began. "I have a idea of how he pulled it off, but until he makes a mistake I can't make any moves."

Tsunade sighed, nodding in understanding. She hated politics, they were a game she'd always tried to stay away from.

Being the last Senju that wasn't easy, one thing she really, really did not miss about Konoha was council gatherings. Currently, her seat on the Shinobi council was empty, and it would stay that way if she had anything to do with it.

That hadn't made many happy. She still remembered the elders once asking her about an heir.

She'd nearly went balastic on them, it had barely been a week since Dan had died when they'd asked. She'd left a few days later, but not before letting them know she had no intentions of ever having children.

"Alright, I think I should see Naruto now," Tsunade said, standing up.

Hiruzen nodded, though he wished the blonde would rest for the night, he also wanted for her to help Naruto as soon as possible.

"I'll walk with you."

With that the two exited the Hokage's office and headed for the Hospital.

* * *

Upon arriving in Naruto's room, Hiruzen and Tsunade were surprised to find the form of the last Uchiha slumped in a chair beside the blonde's bed.

He was asleep, but the most surpring thing was one of his hands was gripping Naruto's. If it was intentional or not neither knew, but it was quite the scene to walk in on.

Tsunade herself was even more surprised seeing Naruto. Sure, she had expected the girl to look like her parents, but not like this.

She was nearly the mirror image of Kushina, other than that blonde hair which was nearly the same shade as Minato's if it were not for the red highlights she'd inherited from Kushina.

Her hair was also a little more unruly – for lack of better fitting word – then Kushina's pin-straight hair.

True, it was almost completely straight, except for a wayward spike-like lock of hair that would appear randomly throughout the legnth. Since Naruto was laying down it was barely noticable.

Naruto's face was also a bit more angular than Kushina's, but still rather round much like her mother's. Like most Uzumaki's, to be honest.

One of the biggest differences between Naruto and Kushina was the three whisker birthmarks on each cheek.

"I wasn't expecting him to find his way here," Hiruzen muttered, a slight smile.

"Why's that? From what you've told me she was very close to the family, and many of the Uchiha clan," Tsunade asked as she moved to Naruto other side.

Hiruzen sighed.

"Itachi put his brother throught quite the mentally tramataizing genjutsu," he began. "I fear witnessing what he did may lead him down a path of vengence. There is also the fact he and Naruto were more rivals and butted heads quite often from what I've witnessed."

Tsunade hmm'd as she continued checking over Naruto's vitals and other simple things.

"What are you doing?" a almost sleepy voice demanded.

Hiruzen and Tsunade realized the raven haired boy had sat up sharply in awareness. His still focusing black eyes glaring warningly at Tsunade.

"Calm down, brat," Tsunade said. "I'm here to wake Naruto up, that is all."

"Sasuke, this is my old student, Senju Tsunade," Hiruzen began, drawing the boys attention to him. "I called her here to heal Naruto, and wake her up. She's renowned as the best medical ninja in the world."

Tsunade didn't say anything, she simply continued to think of the best way to go about waking the girl up. From her scans the girl had suffered mentally and physically.

She'd lost more blood than should be humanly possible, a blade of some sort had gone through her chest, cutting into the side of her heart.

It was impossible that she was even alive, but she definitley was, but it seemed at one point she'd been revived through means she couldn't trace.

Tsunade had a hunch it was Kyuubi's doing. There was no other exsplanation.

"You can wake her up?" Sasuke asked and Tsunade nodded.

"I can," she said.

"Do it," he said, nearly snapping and finally let go of Naruto's hand – which he didn't remembering grabbing.

Tsunade usually would have been more than annoyed at his tone, but let it go for now. He had suffered the lose of his clan.

"It may take me a few minutes," she said, and with that she began.

* * *

It was the next day that Naruto woke up.

The first thing she noticed was how much the light hurt her eyes. The fact her body was sore and stiff was also something she noticed right away.

The most painful part of her body was her chest, which didn't surprise her once she recalled exactly where she had to be.

"She's awake... someone let the Hokage know," she heard a unfamilar voice say.

"Nar..uto?"

blinking, her vision clearing, she did recognize that voice. It sort of surprised her, she hadn't counted on him being here when she woke up. Kasumi, maybe, but not Sasuke.

"Sasuke-chan," Naruto said and Sasuke's face colored red for a moment – probably in anger – at the very familiar and usually femenime suffix. "How...how long have I been..."

"A week, maybe longer if it hadn't been for Tsunade-sama," a woman Naruto recognized as the doctor that usually treated her.

"Takahashi-san," Naruto greeted, trying to sit up despite the stiffness and pain it led to. "Sorry, if I worried everyone."

"I see you're awake," a female voice said, from the other side of her.

Naruto looked over to see an average height woman, with a very large chest area and long blonde hair – though not close to the shade of her own, nor was it the pale Yamanaka blonde.

Her eyes were a light brown, almost hazel color, and she had a purple diamond on her forehead. Naruto wasn't completley sure, but had a feeling it was some sort of seal.

It reminded her of the pictures of Uzuamki Mito she'd seen.

The Shodai Hokage's wife also had a diamond mark on her forehead, but Naruto doubted it was a birthmark or clan marking since her mother didn't have one, nor did she.

"Hello, Naruto," the blonde said, a slight smile on her face. "I'm Tsunade..."

Naruto's eyes widened a second later, realization of who this was hitting her.

"You're Senju Tsunade, the Slug Princess, one of the three sannin. You're also the worlds best healer," Naruto said, almost with stars in her eyes.

Naruto had always thought highly of Tsunade of the sannin, almost idolizing the woman.

She was also aware the woman was family, distant as if might be. If she was right Tsunade was her third or fourth cousin.

Tsunade blinked owlishly for a moment before she chuckled.

"I am," she said. "I knew your parents as well."

Naruto grinned before looking back at Sasuke.

"Have you been here all week, teme?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood Sasuke seemed to be in.

Even though she'd seen the boy at his moodiest, she'd never seen him so... stoic for lack of a better term. There was this aura around him now that she didn't necessarily like.

She knew what had happened had hit him hard, and she was worried about him.

She would admit he was her friend, and she cared about him. He'd stopped being an annoying duck-butt bastard years ago. He was her rival, and in a way like a brother.

An annoying little brother despite them being only months apart (him being a few months older).

The point was she had never seen the raven haired boy like this before. She had a feeling it could only get worse in the future.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, nodding. "I was unconscious for three days, they didn't want to let me go too soon and I..."

His eyes narrowed, and she saw the vulnerability in them, though she wasn't sure anyone else could unless they knew how to read emotions rather well.

Naruto's eyes softened and she nodded. He hadn't wanted to return home yet.

"I get it," she muttered. "Were there any survivors?"

Sasuke looked down, and shook his head.

"Just me, and you."

Naruto looked down, tears filling her eyes almost immediately. Thinking back she remembered almost too clearly what had happened. Arriving at Koji's, finding his parents dead.

She remembered running into Itachi, she remembered vaguely the floating nothingness that was death – she didn't exactly remember being dead, that was just what she recalled... it wasn't a bad feeling just... strange and almost like sleeping.

She remembered waking up, revived thanks to Kyuubi, and running to help Sasuke only to find the boy on the ground from whatever Itachi had done to him and Mikoto-sensei and Fugaku-sama dead.

It was all to much for her to take, and she blinked, a few tears falling as she choked back on a sob.

She didn't want to cry, not in front of someone she'd just met, Takahashi-san. Sasuke... well she wasn't so worried about crying in front of him. It was strange though, she didn't remember the last time she'd cried.

"Naruto..."

Naruto wiped her eyes when she heard the familiar voice of Hokage-jiji. Looking over she saw the man, his eyes concerned and wise. She also thought she saw guilt in his eyes, for what she didn't understand.

The Hokage himself was having a battle in his thoughts.

Part of him wanted to tell Naruto the truth of what happened, of why the massacre had happened, but another part of him stopped him.

Itachi had asked him not to tell either his brother or Naruto the truth.

Be it shame or a desire for them to hate him and seek revenge later in life, Hiruzen wasn't sure.

He also didn't think the time was right, even if he did tell them. Despite his better judgment, Hiruzen decided in that moment to follow Itachi's request.

He wouldn't tell them, at least not right now. Maybe, maybe he would tell Naruto once she'd recovered enough. Once she was a little older.

"I see you're awake, Naru-chan," Hiruzen said, smiling. "I am glad."

"Jiji, when can I leave?" Naruto asked.

Then something occured to her.

Kasumi. She was surprised the girl wasn't here, but also sort of expetant, seeing as the massacre must have hit the girl hard as well.

"Kasumi," she said, interrupting whatever the Hokage was going to say. "How is she?"

Hiruzen sighed.

"Your other teammate is doing... alright considering what has happened," he answered. "As for when you may leave..."

Hiruzen looked over to Tsunade who frowned before nodding.

"You are healed, anything left over will simply be some discomfort, nothing pain medication won't cure. I do want you to forgo training for the next few weeks. I am hesitant to let you leave today, but knowing your parents as I did, if you're anything like them you won't stay put. So under the condition you won't train, and will return each week for a check up I'll release you today."

Takahashi Naoko nodded almost hesitantly.

"I am in agreement with Tsunade-sama."

Naruto grinned and nodded.

"Great!"

* * *

Kasumi should have walked the other way when she noticed Naruto jogging at a fast pace towards her, a small smile on her face. A look of what seemed to be concern, relief and fear in her wide eyes.

"Kasumi-chan," Naruto gasped out, breathing heavily.

It was strange for her to be out of breath, but Kasumi knew she'd been grievously injured so she wasn't all that surprised.

Even with her healing some wounds took some time.

It made the protective instincts in Kasumi twitch, and she would admit she was relieved to see the blonde awake and okay.

A larger part of her twitched to scream, to hit and blame Naruto for Koji's death. The thought of Koji's death made her chest hurt, but her eyes remained dry.

She'd cried all the tears she could for Koji and Mikoto-sensei. Even for Naruto... but at the time she hadn't been too sure what she was crying for exactly.

"Naruto," she said, her voice coming out colder than she ment. "I'm glad you're awake."

Naruto frowned, she had the most terrible feeling in her gut.

"You don't sound all that happy," she muttered and instantly regretted.

"Our teammate and sensei just _**died**_!" Kasumi exclaimed harshly. "Do you expect me to be _happy_?"

Naruto couldn't meet her friends eyes at this.

"I don't know, I expected you to be relieved I was alive at least," Naruto said.

Kasumi glared.

"You are alive, and I don't understand why!?" Kasumi's voice began to raise as she spoke. "YOU WERE THERE WITH HIM, WHY ARE YOU ALIVE AND YET KOJI ISN'T!"

She was yelling now, and Naruto took a step back, her eyes blinking repeadedly to stop any tears from falling. She had expected Kasumi to be upset, but she really hadn't been expecting this sort of reaction. Kasumi did have a temper though...

"I-I didn't... I couldn't do anything, I tried, but Itachi..."

"Itachi," Kasumi said, sneering. "Right, your future husband. I've heard the rumors, I can't help but wonder if they're right. If it was your fault that Itachi massacred the clan."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Kasumi-chan, I don't know what you want me to say..."

"Nothing," Kasumi said, face stoic yet Naruto saw the tears building in her eyes. "Don't say anything, just... don't. I could yell at you forever, and it wouldn't change the fact he's dead. That Mikoto-sensei is dead, and part of me blames you. You're powerful, more so than me or Koji and yet you couldn't stop one person. The fact I know how you felt about Itachi, makes it worse. Just don't come near me or talk to me, and I'll do the same for you."

With that Kasumi turned and began walking from the training ground Team Mikoto once trained in.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi," Naruto whispered, knowing Kasumi wouldn't be able to hear her.


	25. Unwell

**Nightmare Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 24: Unwell. **

The photo album she'd received weeks ago on her ninth birthday laid in her lap.

She had tried to avoid it as long as she could, but it seemed the wall she'd built had finally broken. For Sasuke's well being she'd temporally moved into the apartment she'd insisted he be given until the Uchiha district could be cleaned up.

She had point blank refused to allow Sasuke to enter the district until she made sure it was alright for his return.

She didn't necessarily like the idea of Sasuke living in the deserted district alone in the future, but he was determined that he wanted to stay there.

Be it to remind himself of the safety he'd once felt there, or to simmer in his hatred of his brother, Naru didn't know.

Being shinobi they worked fast, and they'd already had a week (give or take) before she woke up to begin removing the bodies and cleaning away the evidence of the massacre.

The funeral would take longer to arrange than a normal one, she'd learned soon after being released from the hospital, because there were so many bodies.

Itachi had also slashed the eyes of those he killed, probably to stop grave robbers from thinking they were going to get a Sharingan without any consequences.

But she digressed; the point was the album she was almost robotically flipping through.

Every picture made a scar in her heart that much more prominent. They were all of dead people... Shisui, Koji, Mikoto-sensei... those that weren't dead hated her, betrayed her, or was never that close to her to begin with.

Though Sasuke had become a bit more... open, for lack of better word, around her. At the same time he kept his distance. He had begun to change from the boy she once knew. He was more guarded already, and showed a hate for any mention of his brother.

No matter what Naruto tried she couldn't bring herself to hate Itachi, but she was angry at him nonetheless.

What worried her the most about Sasuke was his desire to train so much. Whatever Itachi had done to him before she'd gotten there had screwed with him mentally.

The worse part about it was she had no idea what Itachi had done, as the duck-butt boy wouldn't talk about it in detail. All he said when she asked was that he had to get stronger.

"Naruto."

Naruto blinked, the page having stayed on the picture of her and Itachi the day she'd teased him with pocky. It seemed so long ago now, that she'd tied a piece of pocky to a stick, sat in a tree branch above the older boy and dangled it above him teasingly.

It was one of her last happy memories.

As Naruto looked up at the boy standing in the doorway of her guest room she realized she'd been crying the entire time. She hadn't made a sound, but tears had fallen anyways. A few had even landed on the photo she'd been staring at, dazed.

"Sasuke-teme," she muttered, taking a deep breath. "You should knock."

Sasuke didn't do much more than grunt, but she noticed a hint of concern in his eyes, and one of his fist was clinched at his side. He never made mention of how that door had been open the entire time.

"You've been crying, again," he muttered, and Naruto closed her photo album with a snap.

"I... I had something in my eyes... that's all," she said, placing the album beside her on her bed and wiping her eyes as if it would erase the redness and tear stains.

"You loved _him_ didn't you..."

Naruto winced at the way Sasuke hissed out 'him' as if it were the most poisonous word in the human language.

She sighed.

"I loved the entire clan one way or another. There may have been those who barely tolerated me, but there were many who welcomed me as if I was an Uchiha already. I'd never felt so at home or as if I belonged before I met Koji and the other Uchiha. Before Mikoto-sensei and your family."

Naruto looked over at her dresser which had a picture of Team Mikoto framed on it.

"I did love Itachi - " Sasuke twitched with anger at the name, but said nothing. "- at first I thought it was only platonic. I was unsure if I would be able to see him as more, even after I agreed to the arranged marriage. I was wrong though, I realized, confronted with him that day that my feelings had begun to change to something more even before I realized it myself. Maybe because I'm still young, but I've never really been the best with emotions. Before I was four I never really felt much beyond loneliness, and negative emotions as a whole. Even those confused me."

"Hn... I'm sorry," he whispered so low that she almost didn't hear it.

Naruto watched with wide eyes as the other nine year old left. She was more than surprised, after all, Uchiha's rarely ever apologized. For Sasuke... well she couldn't remember the last time she'd heard those words from him. If ever, come to think of it.

Looking at the hair pin she'd sat on the dresser earlier that morning before taking a shower, Naruto sighed. The Uchiha symbol stood out proudly on the hair pin, the gift she'd treasured, given to her by Itachi himself.

She couldn't bring herself to part with it, though she'd felt odd knowing out of what once were dozens of people wearing that same symbol, only Sasuke and she remained.

"I'm confused Itachi... why did you do it?" she whispered to herself, head bowed.

* * *

_Vivid cerulean-azure blue eyes stared up at him, blood flowing from the side of her mouth, and skin paling visibly from its usual tanned tone. _

"_Why... why did you do – " the blade in her chest was pushed deeper, twisting, and blood splattered from her mouth as she fell to her knees. "Tra-traitor." _

_The sword was pulled free and the blonde feel to the side, hair falling around and under her as her eyes faded to a nearly gray-blue, dull and lifeless compared to before, and stared blankly ahead. _

Outside Fire Country, a boy about thirteen or fourteen shot up from his sleep, eyes wide and spinning with his Sharingan. Placing a hand on his forehead, his eyes dropping, he tried to shake the dream from his minds eye.

He'd never gone in with the intent to kill Naruto or even Koji if he could help it – he'd known Naruto and Koji were supposed to be training and were always late to return.

He'd miscalculated.

Just as he'd misjudged when his brother would return home from the Academy. He'd taken measures to make sure he was late, but apparently he underestimated his brother's desire to get home.

His parents; well, he wished it hadn't had to turn out like it had. Unfortunately it was what it was, and through everything he'd always have three regrets that laid with the harm he'd left with Naruto, his brother and Koji.

He knew Koji was dead, his Crow summons had returned with this information, and he also knew Naruto had been a coma for about a week.

It wasn't long ago the nightmares had begun. Sometimes they were of his clan, those he'd been forced to kill, and at others it was just Naruto.

"You love her... don't you boy?" a dark voice asked from the shadows.

Itachi gritted his teeth, and looked over to see the man stepping from the shadows the voice had come from.

"What do you want Madara?" he asked, his tone as emotionless as his face.

Madara chuckled.

"You know, Uzumaki women have always attracted the Uchiha clan – of course, it's not easy to catch their attention, they're a feisty breed," Madara said, smirking. "I'd say killing her, probably not the smartest idea you've ever had."

"It was reflex... I didn't mean to hurt her," Itachi muttered under breath, but he knew the older man would hear him.

He glared over at Madara.

"Are you done? Besides... it's a moot point. Any chance we had died when I was ordered to kill the clan," Itachi said, standing up.

Madara watched as the boy left, a slight smirk. The boy reminded him a bit of himself at that age, maybe that had been one of the reasons why he'd chosen Itachi over anyone else in the clan.

The fact he was Izuna's descendant... well that helped make his mind up as well he supposed. But while Itachi did remind Madara of himself in his youth, he was also very different.

At times he saw more of Izuna's personality, which was an annoyance to be reminded of. He'd spent a long time trying to forget his past, but sometimes it snuck back in.

* * *

Itachi wondered around the area. Coming across a natural hot spring he sat down on a large rock, and looked up at the still dark sky.

He'd say it was probably rather early in the morning, between three and six in the morning.

Ninja were usually taught to tell time simply by looking at the sky, in case there was no other means of doing so. It wasn't something taught in the academy though – something he'd always thought odd – but by the clans to their children.

He remembered helping his mother teach Sasuke and Naruto. The both of them had made a competition out of it.

He wasn't sure when his feelings for Naruto had begun to change from friendly and platonic to what it had become.

Within the last year, he knew that much, but as he'd told Madara – he'd burned that bridge when he'd massacred his clan on orders that hadn't even truly come from the Hokage.

_Foolish_, he thought to himself.

Looking down at the water of the hot spring he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Naru," he muttered.

* * *

A few days later, almost two complete weeks since the massacre of the Uchiha clan, Naruto stood at the funeral, unable to cry anymore.

She'd already cried as many tears as she could for the family that had taken her in, even if she still lived independently in her apartment.

The same could be said for Kasumi, her last remaining friend and teammate, who she could see standing as far away from her as possible.

She never could tell exactly who the tears she cried were for, the Uchiha or the loss of her last friend and teammate. At least Mizumaru still came around her, though rarely since she also had Kasumi to try and knock some sense into.

It didn't seem to be working. In the end the ninkin was loyal to her partner, all Inuzuka dogs were.

She understood Kasumi not wanting to be around her, but at the same time she couldn't believe her friend was being so selfish. So inconsiderate, so stupid!

Did she think just because she was a jinchūriki she could beat an ANBU captain? She was good, great for a freshly made chūnin, but she was no super-girl.

She had no idea how to consciously draw on Kyuubi's chakra – nor did she really want to. With her new bloodline she might not have to depend on it as much when she did learn to use the Bijū chakra.

Her memories were a bit disoriented as it was, there was a lot she was missing from the last year, some tracing back six months.

She had most her memories, but Tsunade-sama had said trauma like what she suffered and the damage done to her body could cause temporary memory loss, or even some memories to be pushed back or suppressed.

They were still there, but they had to be brought out by situations which differed from person to person.

"Naruto-chan," a voice said, drawing her from her thoughts.

She knew it wasn't Sasuke, he was a bit closer to the front, looking as depressed and emotionless as she herself seemed. Looking to her left and up she saw the light brown eyes of Tsunade-sama.

"Tsunade-sama," she muttered, nodding.

Tsunade frowned a bit. Hiruzen had told her how Naruto usually was.

She was a rather good mix of both her parents, loud and outgoing much like Kushina (she even had a love for pranks when she was younger and still did occasionally) but calm and observant much like Minato.

Like both her parents she was stubborn, compassionate about many things, and intelligent. She was after all considered a prodigy of her generation.

This depressed version was nothing like the Naruto he knew, and it worried him. It was why he'd asked her a simple request.

Take Naruto out of the village for a while, train her even (apparently she struggled with training her chakra control) and give her time to heal.

It had taken a day or two, some advice from Shizune and some saké before she agreed.

"I'm sorry, about your loss," Tsunade said, as cliché as it was. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?" Naruto asked, blinking.

"This place... it holds a lot of memories for you and the Hokage and I think it would do you some good to get away for a little while. He asked if I would agree to take you with me when I leave tomorrow. Just for a few months, and I could train you a bit – at least in your chakra control, maybe help you in your Taijutsu."

Naruto blinked again, and her lips quirked up in a tiny smile.

"A training trip?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tsunade answered. "So, what do you say?"

"Why though, why would you want to train me?" Naruto asked, and then frowned a bit. "It's not because Jiji ordered..."

Tsunade shook her head quickly, sighing.

"No, brat, it's nothing like that. I told you I knew your parents, I was close to Kushina, your mother. I actually trained her a bit myself. There isn't a day that goes by I don't wish I was in the village during that attack, maybe I could have saved her from her injuries, but I wasn't and I can't change what happened. Kushina was like a daughter to me, I at least owe it to her to look out for you when I can."

Naruto smiled more, though it didn't reach her eyes, nor was the spark that was usually in the cerulean-azure orbs present.

"Sure, Baachan, I'll go, but only for a few months," she said, and looked over to where Sasuke stood.

She didn't want to leave him for too long, who knew what Sasuke would do.

As it was, she was becoming increasingly more worried about him by the day and he had begun pulling away from her slowly.

He'd moved back to the now cleaned up Uchiha District for one, which worried her even more. He shouldn't subject himself to those sort of memories day in and day out.

There wasn't much she could do about that, the only thing she could do was be there as a friend and hope Itachi hadn't driven his brother to the breaking point.

"I'm not old, don't call me that," Tsunade grumbled, rolling her eyes but on the inside she was a bit relieved.

There had been a moment, at least, where she'd seen what Hiruzen had been talking about.


	26. Coming Home

**Ooyamaneko**** Arc.**

**Uzu no Musume.**

**Chapter 25: Coming Home.**

Five months.

Five months had passed since the greatest tragedy Konoha had suffered since the Kyuubi attack, and yet time moved on. In the five months she'd been gone things had begun to change, not that it hadn't been a forced change at first.

She couldn't say how Konoha had fared since the Uchiha Massacre, but the only two that truly concerned her were Sasuke and Kasumi. Despite the falling out between her and Kasumi she couldn't help but be concerned for her friend – or former friend as it may be.

At first this had caused some problems with the training she and Tsunade had began a few days after leaving Konoha. It took about a week, and Shizune talking to her that had her actually focusing on her training.

She had to admit, with help from Tsunade and even Shizune, she'd actually increased her chakra control more quickly than she had on her own in years. Still, she didn't have the control Shizune or others had, and nowhere near what Tsunade had, but she was happy with her progress.

She could actually handle some of the low rank genjutsu she couldn't before. Most genjutsu she had to do with one of her cat summons.

The cats were predisposed to genjutsu techniques and could do them without her help, but they became more useful and powerful if she helped. Unfortunately it still took control, so she couldn't help with every genjutsu the cats might know and use.

Tsunade had also taught her some things she knew about fūinjutsu. Naruto would never have the control or ability to use Tsunade's White Strength Seal (which she learned was what the diamond seal on the woman's forehead was) but she'd created her own variation of it with Tsunade's input and some help.

It was different from Tsunade's seal, since it only collected excess chakra normally wasted through jutsu; seeing as she had so much it was rather normal for there to be excess chakra in her techniques, even with the chakra control she'd gained over years of strenuous work.

The chakra was gathered into the seal which was inked onto her forehead identically to Tsunade's. Which was another difference. It wasn't formed through chakra control, control which she'd probably never have.

After all, there was a reason only Tsunade had the ability to use the Byakugō no In (White Strength Seal).

She could also take chakra from her reserves and place it into the seal herself, and she could release small burst of it at command if she needed it, but to release the entire amount – which, taking into account how much chakra she had was bound to be a lot over time – she had a technique similar to Tsunade's Infūin: Kai (Yin Seal: Release); only hers was called Kurofūin: Kai (Black Seal: Release).

Another difference was the color, while it was shaped the same, Naruto's seal was black, hence why it was called the Kuro Chakura Fūin (Black Chakra Seal). She commonly kept it covered with her hita-ate, so only a few people knew she had it.

Naruto herself hadn't really changed in the months she'd been gone. The biggest difference was her hair. She had cut her hair down to hip length, and before she'd had it cut it had grown much longer, to below her knees.

She'd thought of keeping it like that, she'd always loved her hair long. It made her resemblance to her mother stronger, but after the incident in Kumo she'd decided getting it cut was better. Well, trimmed more like, it had been cut before she'd even given it a second thought.

It was actually kind of ridiculous – it wasn't anything grand or heroic... it was kind of humiliating.

"_Karui, watch where you're swingin' that thing!" _

_Naruto blinked, turning and barely bending backwards to avoid a swipe from a long glinting sword. Placing her hands behind her and pushed up and flipped backwards onto her feet. _

_Looking around she saw three shinobi, not much older than her (around twelve). Two appeared from the trees in the clearing she'd been wondering through, and one was a few feet away wielding the sword which almost took off her head. _

_Karui, the one she assumed had nearly taken her head off, had a rather tall lithe build about her, but Naruto nearly mistook her for a boy with her rather flat chest. She supposed it could be age – she couldn't be more than two or three years older than Naruto. _

_She had dark skin, long, spiky looking, red hair and when she turned she saw narrowed amber eyes. _

_the girl wore a long, frilly edged, dress which had a slit in the front from the thigh down (probably a pair of shorts or a skirt under it), two yellow earrings fishnet stockings, thigh high boots and a forehead protector worn like a bandana which had the symbol for Kumo Shinobi. She only knew this because she recognized the symbol from a team of Kumo shinobi that had participated in the Chunin Exams. _

_The one who'd spoken she was pretty sure was the only male in the group. A boy also around two or three years older than Naruto with a thoughtful expression, what looked like a lollipop in his mouth. _

_He was dark skinned, had dark eyes (which with a grimace she realized reminded her vaguely of Itachi and even Sasuke to some extent). He had short, spiky white hair and wore an overlong shirt with a hood, red bandage hand guards, gray pants, Kumo shin guards, a black forehead protector, and a long sword attached to his back. _

_The last was a girl with a tantō strapped to her lower back (from the angle Naruto was she caught a glimpse of it), a low cut top, with rather impressive bust size for her age, a mesh armour undershirt which had long sleeves, a short skirt, hand guards, and high boots. _

_Her hair was a light, but bright blonde, cut in an asymmetrical bob, with the front longer than the back and reaching her shoulders. Her eyes were a cool blue, and her expression was rather aloof. She wore her forehead protector around her left upper arm. _

"_What are you doing here, Konoha-nin," the redhead sneered, holding her sword pointed towards Naruto. _

_Naruto narrowed her eyes at the girl. _

"_I'm free to walk where I wish," Naruto replied. "Last time I checked Kumo didn't own all of Lightning Country." _

"_Heh, what are you a baby ninja? You can't be older than seven..." _

_Naruto's face turned red, and she clinched her fist. _

"_I'm nine you flat-chested girl!" _

_It was Karui's turn to turn red, and glower at the blonde. _

_Shaking her sword at Naruto Karui spat, "What do you know you little brat, you don't even have breast yet!" _

"_I bet I'll have more than you!" Naruto yelled back. _

"_Blonde brat!" _

"_Redheaded boy!" _

"_Whisker girl!" _

"_Flat-chested wretch!" _

"_Little Bitch, die!" Karui snapped, charging forward and slicing at the girl who jumped up, flipping over the blade. _

"_Cool," the blonde Kumo kunoichi muttered, barely changing her expression. _

"_Great, she's going to cause a scene and get us demoted before we even last a year as genin. Shouldn't we stop her, Samui?" _

_He looked over at his blonde comrade who snorted discretely, hand on her hip. _

"_I'm not getting in between that," she answered and he sighed. _

"_Stay still you stupid genin brat!" Karui yelled as she tried to take Naruto's head off again. _

_Naruto scoffed, pulled out her scroll containing Toyotama-Hime, and quickly unsealed it in time to allow her blade to block Karui's. She smirked as amber eyes widened. _

"_Who are you calling a genin?" Naruto asked, keeping their swords locked. "I'm a chūnin." _

"_No way!" Karui yelled, growing as she jumped back, her sword at her side. "There is no way you're a chūnin, tomato!" _

_Samui blinked after hearing the blonde girls proclamation of her ninja rank, and smirked slightly. _

"_That's cool," she said again. "You think she can beat Karui, Omoi?" _

_Omoi (the dark skinned boy with white hair, Naruto would later come to realize) grunted, shrugging. _

_Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as the redheads words sunk in, and she tightened her grip on Toyotama-Hime. _

"_HOW DARE YOU CALL ME TOMATO, DATTEBANE!" she yelled, making them all wince at the volume. _

_No on had called her tomato since Koji, and Koji only did it because he knew it upset her. He'd always enjoyed making her mad during training, or a sparring match. She'd barely let him get away with it, there was no way she allowing this flat girl to get away with it. _

"_Oh crap," Karui muttered as the shorter blonde charged at her with a promise of pain in her eyes. _

_It was only the fact Karui had been training in Kenjutsu for years (though Naruto was very good for someone who'd been focusing on Kenjutsu for about a year and few months now), and her longer limbs allowing for larger steps and leaps that saved her from being disemboweled in the first attack. _

_Samui and Omoi sighed as they watched the two angry girls battle, swords clanging and words being used against each other as if they were weapons. Both had cuts and looked rather banged up, neither being able to completely evade the attacks of the other. _

_What did impress them was the fact the unknown Konoha-nin was holding up against Karui – who was no push over when it came to kenjutsu – and that Karui seemed to actually have found a challenge that wasn't one of them. _

"_Uzumaki Naruto!" an angry, stern, voice shouted from a few feet away and coming further into the clearing. _

_The blonde, Naruto, Samui and Omoi assumed, turned her attention away from Karui. This was a mistake. Her sword was twisted from her grip, and Naruto barely had time to duck a decapitating strike. Karui didn't miss the chance and shot her foot out, kicking Naruto harshly in the jaw. _

_They winced at the sound of impact, and the girl was thrown a few feet back, landing on the ground on her side with a groan. Karui smirked wider when she noticed the sunset blonde hair on the ground in front of her. A good six or so inches of it in fact. The girls once mid-calf length hair was now choppily cut to her butt. _

"_Do I want to know why you're fighting a Kumo ninja?" a busty blonde in her mid to late twenties asked, eyes narrowed and hands on her hips. _

_For a moment the Kumo-nin wondered if this was the girls mother, they did have some resemblance to one another. _

"_Crap," Naruto muttered as she got her bearing together and sat up, holding her jaw. "I can't believe I lost to a genin." _

"_That's not all you lost, gaki," Tsunade said, and chuckled as she noticed the terrible haircut her apprentice had received. _

_The face the younger blonde chūnin made upon seeing the locks of blonde hair in front of Karui was priceless, something Tsunade would never let her live down. _

Humiliating. It wasn't long after that the genin's sensei showed up. Naruto had only met one jinchūriki in her life (that she knew of) and that was a girl in Taki no Kuni called Fū. That was another story though. Killer B was nothing like Fū was though, and she could sleep peacefully knowing she wouldn't have to hear his rapping skills for a long time to come.

The week they'd been suckered into staying in Kumo by Karui – who wanted to fight her again on more even grounds, without the interruption, and Killer B who had heard of her from her exploits in the Chunin Exams.

Actually, she was no well kept secret anymore. Everyone knew about the Uzumaki heir and Yondaime's daughter. What they didn't know was her status as the Kyuubi Jinchūriki.

She digressed though. The point was the week in Kumo had been a bit of a headache since she ended up spending most of the time around Killer B, and his genin team.

Killer B had wanted to introduce her to another jinchūriki, the Nibi Jinchūriki, but the woman was off on a long mission and wouldn't be back for some time.

"Naru-chan, are you ready to head out?" Shizune asked, bringing Naruto from her thoughts.

Turning around, Naru grinned at the older woman and nodded.

"Yeah...is baa-chan still recovering from last nights bender?"

Shizune snorted, shaking her head, her dark eyes clearly amused.

"I don't know where you picked up your vocabulary...is it normal for nine year old's to know words like bender and use it in the right context?"

Naruto laughed, checking her hip pouches to be sure they were secure before she left the room, Shizune following after her.

"I'm a ninja," Naruto said as if it explained everything.

* * *

"How long are you staying anyway, baa-chan?" Naru asked, looking around her as if searching for any little thing that had changed in Konoha since she'd left five months before.

It had taken them nearly the whole day to get there, and Naruto made no secret of how much she wanted to get back home. It confounded Tsunade, she couldn't imagine wanting to return to Konoha. It just showed Tsunade how much stronger Naruto was than herself.

They had both went through traumatic events in their past, but where Tsunade had run away and had no intention of ever coming back (at least permanently) to face it, Naruto was running back with open arms.

Maybe it was the fact she had someone to return to. By the time Dan had died ties between the sannin had been breaking. Orochimaru...Jiraiya, well they hadn't lasted.

She didn't even know where her former teammates were anymore. Team Seven was cursed in her eyes, nonetheless. The fact two members of the newest Team Seven had lost their lives recently made it that much more real to her.

Naruto was the best of both her parents, and Tsunade could truthfully say she was proud of her temporary apprentice.

If the girl had better luck with chakra control, and any real skill with medical jutsu, Tsunade would have taken the girl on as a full time apprentice.

Though, she'd still offered to keep training her, even full time if she wanted. Naruto seemed to know she'd learned just about all she could from Tsunade and even if that wasn't true (Tsunade could think of many things she could teach the girl still, it just might take years) she was sure Naruto would want to return back to Konoha.

The girl had a big heart, much like Kushina did, and there was hardly a few days that went by that Tsunade didn't catch Naruto talking or thinking about Sasuke and how he was handling everything. At first she'd assumed the girl had feelings that ran beyond platonic, but Naruto had quickly corrected her.

The girl had truly had feelings for Uchiha Itachi (newly developed or not), and had seen Sasuke as a rival, and friend before the whole massacre. Now it was like she was taking it upon herself to become the protective older sister – despite being the same age, a few months younger in fact.

As time went on, though, she and Shizune had gotten Naruto to calm down. She'd have too, she was a chūnin now, and Sasuke was still in the academy. She couldn't always be there to watch Sasuke. She couldn't always be there to get him out of trouble, and Tsunade was saw that Naru was beginning to understand that as well.

While Tsunade and Shizune still caught her worrying at times, mostly after she had a nightmare about the massacre, she'd calmed down a lot in the last few months.

"Just today," Tsunade replied, coming from her own thoughts.

Naruto pouted, before smiling.

"Just don't leave without saying bye," the blonde girl said. "Come on, we should check in with Jiji."

As Naruto took off for the Hokage's office, she couldn't help but think of how glad she was to be home after so long.

* * *

**AN: So, it's kind of short but here it is. Before I go on with this Arc I want to thank Dark Serpent Cat, who has been quite a inspiration for this certain Arc. Some of the things included were inspired by his ideas and suggestions. I figured I'd give out the thanks now, in case I forget to mention when these certain parts come up in the future, being as forgetful as I am that's possible. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**


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